Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-16
Space and the Senate

As a result of the cIoture invoked
against a little band of filibuStering
Senators, President Kennedy should
soon be able to sign the legislation he
has strongly advocated for the eStab-
liShment of a great American satel-
lite communications system in outer
space.
The legiSlation-long since enacted
by the House with a near-unanimouS
Vote-iS admittedly not perfect (what
thing iS?), but it is admirably suited to
our age. 1t is suited to it, that is, as
something imaginatively and realiSt-
ically designed to create a fabulous,
globe-girdling Spatial network of mag
ical orbiting instruments like TelStar
to bring peoples everywhere into in
Simultaneous touch with each other via
telephone, telegraph, radio and tele-
vision.
Of course, having in mind, for ex-
ample, some of our domestic TV pro-
grams, one swift and all-pervaSive in
tercontinental intercommunication is
not necessarily a thing that should
make us cheer and throw our hats up
in the air. But progress is progress,
and this is an unacceptable part Of 1t,
and the legislation involved has been
tailored accordingly. True, the filibus-
tererS-only dozen or so Of the Sen
ate'S liberals" argued otherwise.
They have attacked the bill on MANY
grounds, but their primary tactic has
been to assault 1t % as a Gigantic
giveaway' to the American Telephone
and Telegraph Company and (2) as a
measure that would empower AT&T
and associated companies to interject
themselves into the conduct of our
country'S foreign policy.
Well, as indicated by the cloture
vote, this filibuStering hyperbole has
collapsed like a punctured balloon.
Among numerous others, the Attorney
General, the Secretary of State, the
chief Of our Defense Department and
the head of the Federal Communications
Commission have all testified emphat-
ically and convincingly-that the Amer
lean peoples interests will be adequately
protected, and best served, by the leg
iSlation setting up the new satellite
communications corporation. At any
rate, the corporation will be full of
many operating checks and balances.
Half the stock is to be owned by the gen.
eral public and half by the dozen or so
companies in the communications bus
mess. AS for management, there is to
be board of Is directors elected
by the private stockholders, six by the
companies, and three by the United
States Government. Beyond that, the
whole enterprise will be subject to the
FCC'S strict licensing and other controls.
So 1t is simply not true, to sum
up, that this legislation constitutes, as
the liberals" have charged, Gigantic
giveaway." Actually, what it does con-
Stitute is well-deServed vote Of conf
dence-by both the legislative and ex-
ecutive branches Of our Government
in the superb record of American free
enterprise in the field of communica-
tionS. What do men like Senators Morse
and Kefauver really want? Why should
this latest venture in space be govern
ment-owned any more than our trans
atlantic cables or our radio and TV
facilities?
The filibusterers have presented an
exceedingly poor case on points of this
sort, and the Senate has responded &C
cordingly: 1t has refused to let doc
trinaire minority-a minority appar-
emily intent upon "socializing" America
as much as poSsible-thwart the will of
the majority The cloture against them