The Lexington advertiser., 1949-12-22

A Report From Britain
James w. Silver. Chmn. Dept.
of History. University of Miss.
Aberdeen, Scotland
December IL, 1949.


Until | saw most of the win
dows of the Southampton-London
boat train plastered with word
FULBRIGHT, was not conscious
of the size of the movement with
which | had become connected.
Cost of our contingent took up
the pronunciation of the dock
worker who was curious about the
meaning of "Foolbright," but, re-
gardless of how you say 1T, my
guess is that one of these days the
word will find its way into the
dictionary.
For the Fulbright program is
undoubtedly the most comprehen-
sive experiment of its kind yet
undertaken. 1t is one of the few
good things that have come out
of the war and should be a great
force for making American de-
mocracy more completely under
stood by people we like to call
our friends
With his background as Rhodes
scholar and as president of the
University of Arkansas, it was
only natural for Senator j. w.
Fulbright to introduce Public Law
584 which received the presidents
signature on August /, 1946. This
Fulbright act, an amendment to
the Surplus Property act of 1914,
set in motion the machinery
which has already enabled nearly
two thousand students, teachers
and scholars to study and work in
lands other than their own. It's
basic purpose is an increase OF
mutual understanding between
the people of the United States
and people of other countries"
A ministrative responsibility
rests with the u. S. Department
Of State, whose division Of Ex-
change of Persons initiates with
other countries executive agree
ments under which United States
educational commissions are set
up abroad. To the present time
agreements have been consum-
mated with China, Burma, Bel
gium and Luxembourg, France,
Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the
Philippines, the United Kingdom,
the Netherlands and Norway,
and negotiations are well under
way with Austria, Australia,
Egypt, India, Pakistan and Tur-
key.
Financing of the program
comes solely from the sale OF sur
plus property abroad which we
refused to bring home after the
war and which our allies were
eager to buy as they were lacking
in dollars. For instance. Bri-
tain's settlement of lend-lease
the United States sterl-
ing credits of .some $650,0OO,OOo-
To have withdrawn these would
have partially frustrated our
whole nation of economic aid to
non-Communist countries. In
December, 1945, Britain agreed to
set aside $50,000,000 Tin sterling)
for educational purposes. Under
the Fulbright program, up to one
million of these dollars may be
used annually for the next twenty
years. A similar agreement has
been made with each of the other
nations mentioned.
President Truman has appoint
ed an eminent Board of Foreign
Scholar S hi ips which approves
policies and types Of programs
and selects both Americans and
foreigners for Fulbright awards.
Graduate student applicants are
certified to the Board by the In
stitute of international Educa-
ton e West 45th street, New
York 19, N. W. Secondary tea
cheers who want to swap jobs for
a year with foreign pedagogues
must first be O.K.'d by the United
States office of Education Feder-
al Security Agency, Washington
Is, D. c., while those interested
in university instruction Of ad-
vanced research must be recon-
mended to the board by the Con-
ference Board of Associated Re-