Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I do not try to propagandize him, and I see some
good characteristics in communism.
Mr. JENNER. There are some indications that you have expressed that
view from time to time during your lifetime while you are in this
country, that there are some good qualities in communism.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Now, there we mean--or what do you mean? What is your
concept of communism?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I am looking at communism more or less more from
the economic point of view. I think it is a system that can work and
works, and possibly for a very poor man, and a very undeveloped nation
it may be a solution.
Mr. JENNER. A temporary one?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. A temporary one, yes--which eventually, and I
believe in evolution, and I have seen through my life that communism in
certain places has developed into a livable type of an economy, a way
of life.
Now, I repeat, again, that I would not like to live there. Otherwise, I
would be there. Because I am too independent in my thinking, and I like
business to be free. But----
Mr. JENNER. You like individual freedom and free enterprise?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right.
Mr. JENNER. Which you find in the United States?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right.
Mr. JENNER. And while you can see some benefits in communism as to
persons of limited means, and poor countries, for initial development,
you think that for a higher level of economic or cultural development
communism is not good?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right.
Mr. JENNER. Is that about it?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Exactly.
Mr. JENNER. I don't want to put words in your mouth.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Exactly.
Now, I am very much influenced by a book called "Poor Countries and
Rich Countries," by the editor of the Economist in London, which
expresses my ideas on economics of the world as it is today.
It is a book which says that--which is available any place here--which
says that the world today is divided into poor countries and rich
countries, and that the question of communism and socialism is for
ignoramuses. That freedom can exist in both types of economies--could
exist eventually.
But the main problem of countries today is the richness and the
poorness. Now, the rich countries are all of Western Europe, the United
States, Canada, all of the satellite countries of Soviet Russia,
Soviet Russia, Australia, and so on. Those are the countries which are
producing more than they can eat--you see what I mean? And they develop
the tools to produce industrial goods.
While the other countries, the rest of the world, is falling down in
the morass of poverty, and becomes poorer and poorer as time goes on.
You see what I mean?
Right now, I am living in one of those countries temporarily, Haiti,
which is in terrible economic condition because people eat more than
they can produce. Now, what can save those countries?
Either a tremendous injection of money from the capitalist countries,
or a Communist regime, or a Socialist regime. What else can they do? So
that is something to think about and worthwhile reading.
Mr. JENNER. But, on the other hand, as far as your political philosophy
is concerned, the thing that stands major with you is individual
freedom?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right. Naturally, you can see from all my
life that I believe in individual freedom, and I could not live without
it.
Mr. JENNER. Sometimes to excess.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. To excess; yes. The big discussions I had in
Yugoslavia was always about the freedoms. And I remember that I was
attacked one day by a group of Communists in Yugoslavia about Governor
Faubus, in Arkansas--saying "What happens there? Is that an example
of democracy in Arkansas?" And I told them, yes, it is an example of
democracy. I told them that you can imagine in your own country that
the Governor would object to the order from the President, and the
President had to send troops to make the Governor obey. And that made
an impression on them. A few examples like that.
Mr. JENNER. When you were in Yugoslavia, then, you did have debates
with the Communists?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Occasionally--after a few drinks, you can talk
to them. But they were engineers and geologists--they were not people
active politically--they were not big shots.
With the big shots you cannot discuss it. But with smaller people, you
can discuss.
Mr. JENNER. Are you interested in debate?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Very much so; yes.
Mr. JENNER. Are you inclined in order to facilitate debate to take any
side of an argument as against somebody who seeks to support----
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is an unfortunate characteristic I have; yes.
Mr. JENNER. And that leads you at times to not necessarily speak in
favor of, but to take the opposite view of somebody with respect to
communism?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; sometimes it annoys me to have somebody who
does not know anything about conditions anywhere else in the world
attack while he is himself actually a Communist. You see what I mean?
A Communist to me, in a bad sense, is somebody who does not believe in
free discussion. So it annoys me that somebody Bircher will tell me,
"George, we are for freedom here." I said, "Just the opposite, you are
not for freedom."
Mr. JENNER. That is, you have taken the position that the Bircherites
are not for freedom?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I don't like that movement personally. I dislike
it very much. I have run into trouble lately in Texas before I left
with some of my clients who were very much inclined in that direction.
For instance, they object to the United Nations. They put words in
my mouth. I remember one day they said, "George, would you believe
in abolition of the Army in the United States and creating an
international force?"