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Blanket over the World
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Part 1:
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In 1976 when Milwaukee was facing the prospect of cross-town busing for
integration I believed such busing would be destructive, not only for
education, but also for neighborhoods, neighborhood businesses, and
harmony within the city. What organization, I thought, ought to be more
willing to point out the legal and educational fallacies of this
directive than the Chamber of Commerce. I even went so far as to call on
the head of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce to see if
he would cooperate in our efforts to expose and defeat what I considered
to be a usurpation of local and parental authority.He was polite and outwardly sympathetic, but not really helpful. He
implied it was too late to do anything but accept the inevitable. As I
was leaving the outer office, disappointed and puzzled by his lack of
concern, I noticed on one of the tables a pile of folders that seemed to
be on the subject of busing for integration. I asked the receptionist if
I might take one. Guess what! It was a collection of Chamber of Commerce
papers telling Milwaukee business leaders how to promote the busing and
educate industrial workers for the change. Not only could we expect no
help from the Chamber to fight forced busing–all of its resources were
aligned against us.In the folder there was a letter from the Chairman of the Association of
Commerce urging full cooperation with what was called the Milwaukee
Plan–school system changes supposedly developed by Milwaukee School
Superintendent, Lee R. McMurrin, approved by the school Board,
recommended by Special Master John Gronouski, and ordered by Federal
Judge John W. Reynolds. The Association of Commerce suggested that
employers distribute the so-called Milwaukee Plan to their employees and
urge them to work together for orderly change.This Milwaukee Plan was essentially the same plan that would be named
after whatever city was being attacked. It was not really a Milwaukee
Plan. It was a plan used in all cities and named after each to obtain
cooperation. In Milwaukee it called for integration of 66 schools on a
voluntary basis with mandatory backup provisions.Failure to take the initiative, the Association of Commerce said, was
certain to provoke ultimate mandatory integration orders which would
eliminate voluntary options then available. The Association appealed to
the entire community for total commitment to implementation of the
approved integration plan to place the schools in full compliance with
what it called the law of the land.I thought it strange that the ruling of one federal judge could become
the law of the land, especially since that judge had not acted on his
own, but on instructions received prior to hearing the case. A MILWAUKEE
JOURNAL article dated October 4, 1975 said:“About 20 federal district
judges from around the country are meeting in Washington, D. C.,
this weekend in closed sessions to discuss school desegregation
cases and how to handle them. At least three of those invited are
among judges now involved in desegregation litigation. . . “The seminar was held at the
Federal Judicial Center, the research and training arm of the federal
judiciary, but was run by the Institute of Judicial Administration, a
private organization at New York University. Prior to the time the
desegregation cases came before the court, judges were instructed by a
private organization on how to handle them. Was this how the law of the
land ought to be decided?In the June 29, 1978 MILWAUKEE SENTINEL — while battles were still
being fought in the courts — Judge Reynolds admitted:“I am just one little
judge in a mammoth social experiment going on around the country.”
What we had was not the law
of the land, but social experimentation carried on with the cooperation
of the Association of Commerce. My curiosity about the Chamber of
Commerce was totally aroused at that time. I started to watch the
policies of the Chamber more closely and to research its history, its
previous activities, and its relationship to government.I already knew that almost every city, town and village in the country
has its own Chamber of Commerce. What I did not know was that there are
also a United States Chamber of Commerce and an International Chamber of
Commerce. These are what you might call, blanket
organizations — organizations over organizations.The United States Chamber of Commerce was formed in 1912 and the
International Chamber in 1919. Individual Chambers were invited to join
these blanket organizations and most of them did. Their existence helps
to explain why separate Chambers of Commerce all over the country — even
the world — frequently adopt similar local policies or support the same
legislation on the national and international scenes. They are taking
their cue from the blanket organizations.If you want to control the behavior of a large number of people, blanket
organizations make sense. You can’t contact people one by one and
persuade them to do what you want them to do. They have to be organized
into groups and be willing to go along with group decisions. Groups
already existed on the local scene, so in the case of the Chamber of
Commerce that part of the job was done. But if you wish to have a
national system and later a world management system local organizations
are not enough. They have to be held together for a common purpose. An
organization of organizations is needed.How did the organization of organizations come into being? Amber Clark
did some research on the Chamber of Commerce for WISCONSIN REPORT in
1975. She found a book, These Tremendous Years by Neil M.
Clark. She learned that President Taft and some members of Congress
wanted a national commercial and trade organization. It bothered them
that a Chamber of Commerce in one state might write and tell his
congressman to vote for a bill, while another Chamber of Commerce would
write opposing the same bill. They didn’t think that was right.
President Taft directed Charles Nagel, Secretary of Commerce and Labor
to make arrangements for a national commercial conference. On April 22,
1912, 700 representatives of 392 commercial and industrial organizations
met in Washington D.C. Nagel told the representatives:“It has been suggested not
only that you organize so as to have a common commercial opinion to
submit to the government, but that you get the sign of authority in
the shape of a national charter which will enable every officer of
the government to say, this is the recognized representative of
commerce and industry of the United States.”In other words government
officials could henceforth ignore individual opinions because the
Chamber of Commerce opinion would be official. For example, many people
did not favor the establishment of a Federal Reserve System, but on
August 26, 1913 the President of the Chamber of Commerce and a Chamber
committee testified before the Senate Banking and Currency Committee in
favor of establishment of a Federal Reserve System. This was the
recognized representation of commerce and industry. In December of that
year the Federal Reserve Act was passed.Let’s look at other things the United States and International Chambers
of Commerce have accomplished for WORld Management. Incidentally, before
we start let me tell you WORld Management System is quite a mouthful, so
sometimes I shorten it: WOR from WORld, M from management, and S from
System. It comes out WORMS.One person who was very much involved in the idea of world management
and also with the International Chamber of Commerce was Thomas J.
Watson, president of IBM. In the June 1938 issue of THINK magazine,
IBM’s in-house publication, Watson revealed one way in which the Chamber
blankets are able to have their national and international policies
adopted by local chambers:“The Chamber of Commerce
of the United States maintains in every local chamber a national
councillor. I should like to see an international councillor named
in every member chamber of commerce throughout the world, who, aided
and guided by the International Chamber of Commerce, would present
the international aspect of important problems.”Also interesting was the fact
that at the 26th annual convention of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce in
1938 Watson referred to it as the “parent organization” as if the U. S.
Chamber were the creator of the local chambers, rather than a later
blanket over them. He said:“. . . steps should be
taken toward bringing the aims and objectives of the parent
organization closer to the business man and the people. It was
proposed to accomplish this by enlisting wider cooperation of the
local chambers and trade associations, by placing more reliance on
their activities in educating their constituents, and by making the
national body more effective as a clearing-house than ever before.”
Notice that Watson was not
suggesting that the local chambers had anything to contribute in the way
of ideas, only that they could be effectively used to help promote the
goals of the blanket organizations.In 1937 and 1938 Watson was deeply involved in world affairs. Not only
was he President of IBM and of the International Chamber of Commerce,
but he was working with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
to develop plans for what he termed, the “proper exchange” of goods and
services, men and methods, ideas and ideals between nations. He said:
“The International Chamber
of Commerce is in harmony with the basic laws of the universe. The
right kind of thinking has no boundary lines.”The first necessity toward
internationalizing what he called the right kind of thinking was another
international blanket organization. Watson, the United States Chamber of
Commerce and the International Chamber of Commerce played an extremely
large role in creating this new blanket organization–the United
Nations. But even before the formal creation of the United Nations the
idea of world management had captured the minds of many business and
chamber of commerce leaders throughout the world.The October 1938 issue of THINK told of the Seventh International
Management Congress which met in Washington the previous month. Two
thousand delegates from almost every state and from twenty-one foreign
nations attended. The first meeting of the International Management
Congress had been in Prague in 1924, but 1938 was the first time it had
met on American soil. Mr. Willis H. Booth, Vice-President of Guaranty
Trust Company was the Honorary Chairman.There were six major sections–administration, production, distribution,
personnel, agriculture and home management plus ten general sessions.
Cordell Hull, Secretary of State, said that the genius of any one in any
country should be made available for the benefit of everybody in all
countries. Secretary of Commerce, Daniel S. Roper, emphasized the
necessity of recognition by business interests, large and small, of the
priority of human values over property values.Many of the men at the management conference were sure in 1937 and 1938
that they had found the answer to world peace. It was world peace
through world trade, but they were talking about managed world trade and
a commercialized, totally-managed world.May 27, 1940 was IBM Day at the Golden Gate International Exposition,
Ray Lyman Wilbur, President of Stanford University, was the featured
speaker. His speech was reprinted in the November, 1940 issue of THINK.
By putting together some quotes from his speech I can give you an idea
of the changes he suggested to bring about world peace. It seems world
managers always claim the world will never have peace until their plans
are put in place. Wilbur said:“It is necessary for us to
realize that we must weigh against our sense of individuality and
nationality the vital needs of groups and the demands of new social
reactions. . . . A drastic adjustment in our thinking is required
by
the facts that must be considered in our relationship to the future.
. . our social structure has in no way kept pace with our advancing
facilities. . . we can revamp our present world structure, if we can
grasp the fact that the human family must be viewed as a unit, and
work toward the establishment of that unity…. If we can change our
attitudes, I see no reason why we cannot gradually organize the
world as a unit — not along the lines with which we are already too
familiar, as they are fraught with difficulties; but based upon the
essential services that we can render one another.”That brings us to education.
One of the most important essential services the WORMS planned to
control was education. Stephen Duggan, Director of the Institute of
International Education discussed Post-War Education and the World
Charter in the September, 1945 issue of THINK. He revealed that:
“The American delegation
brought with it to San Francisco a plan for an International
Education Office to become a Commission under the Social and
Economic Council. The plan received the hearty approval of
practically all of the United Nations. But as the result of the
controversies that arose over the organization and powers of the
Security Council it was decided to confine action at San Francisco
as much as possible to the original charter drawn up at Dumbarton
Oaks and wait for the erection of the Social and Economic Council. .
. There is little doubt that it will be adopted.”A primary purpose of the
International Education Office is to maintain a careful watch over the
systems of education carried on in the different countries so that
teaching that will lead to friction and possible conflict cannot avoid
detection and exposure. . .The International Education Office will
investigate educational conditions in various parts of the world, issue
the results in reports and distribute them among the different nations.
In that way it would gradually provide educational standards below which
no nation would like to fall. . .We’ll come back to education and the way it is being managed by the
WORMS with the assistance of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, but first we
should note other activities of the U. S. Chamber to see more of how it
builds and uses its power. One of the most important tools used by the
U. S. Chamber of Commerce to disseminate its policies is closed-circuit
television. WASHINGTON REPORT, a weekly publication of the Chamber of
Commerce of the United States alerted member organizations when these
broadcasts were to be held.On March 26, 1969 Vice President Agnew appeared on the closed-circuit
telecast meeting of community leaders on urban problems that was beamed
to 26 cities. A long list of federal big-shots also participated
including Secretary of Labor George Shultz, Secretary of Commerce
Maurice Stans, Secretary of Transportation John Volpe, Dr. Daniel
Patrick Moynihan Special Assistant to President Nixon for Urban Affairs,
Secretary of HEW Robert Finch, and Secretary of HUD George Romney.
WASHINGTON REPORT described the meeting:“Designed primarily to
answer questions rising from local, county and state levels about
the steps the Federal Government intends to take to solve our many
urban ills, the innovative telecast is being sponsored by the
National Chamber with the support and cooperation of local chambers
of commerce in the 26 receiving cities. . . Audiences will gather in
those locations to view the proceedings in color on theater-size
screens, to hear the speakers and then put questions via two-way
audio to the principals speaking from Washington. . . Participating
chambers are being urged to encourage attendance by the widest
cross-section of citizens in their areas, taking in the entire scope
of community leadership: Business, government, labor unions,
minority groups, civic organizations, and others. . . . . .the
telecast will have two major purposes:* Present useful information on possible solutions to urban
problems.
* Enable local leaders to fix the telecast as a rallying point to
start their own urban programs.”If you have wondered why the
Chamber of Commerce seldom objects effectively to the federal
government’s many senseless and useless urban programs, now you know.
Behind the scenes they are working for, rather than against such
programs.You’ve heard about revenue sharing. Who do you suppose benefits when
funds gush forth? I surely don’t know that the Chamber of Commerce
benefited in all cities, but in some cases the news of Chamber of
Commerce hands in the till has leaked out. For instance, an alert friend
in San Luis Obispo County, California sent me a clipping from the June
21, 1984 TELEGRAM-TRIBUNE headed, Chamber receives lion’s share of Paso
revenue sharing fund.“Christmas arrived in June
for a number of Paso Robles organizations as the Paso Robles City
Council distributed federal revenue sharing funds Tuesday night. It
allocated $35,000. Most of it — $30,000 — went to the Paso Robles
Chamber of Commerce. It had requested $47,334.”The MILWAUKEE JOURNAL of
November 8, 1981 said that the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin Village Board
for the first time in many years had turned down the Chamber’s request
for direct funding. The Village turned down the request for $4000 by a
unanimous vote.But the January 19 MILWAUKEE JOURNAL revealed the Chamber did not give
up. Two months later the village Board voted 6-1 to join the Chamber of
Commerce. The membership cost taxpayers $848 based on a $100 fee plus $4
for each of the village’s 187 full-time employes.Is it unusual for the Chamber of Commerce to receive tax funds? I think
not. I was in Tampa in 1995 and happened to read the TAMPA TRIBUNE of
February 15. There was an article speculating on whether it was proper
for the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce to endorse a mayoral candidate
due to the fact that the Chamber of Commerce receives county funds. How
much did it receive? — Believe it or not — $400,000.But that’s not the end of it. The TRIBUNE told that the county was not
the only local government that contributed to the chamber’s budget.
Tampa kicked in $300,000. It is not only the fact that the Chamber of
Commerce receives federal and local tax support that disturbs me. It is
that so much of the Chambers effort goes toward giving more power and
responsibility to the WORMS.I have been saving clippings from newspapers on Chamber of Commerce
activities since 1965. Here are a few of the headlines and quotes that
show how the Chamber increases our tax burden and intrudes in almost
every area of our daily lives and activities:“HARTLAND CHAMBER ASKS FOR
$5000”“BUSINESS TOLD TO TAKE HEALTH PLANNING ROLE”
“BUSINESS ATTACKS HOSPITAL”
“BLOAT CHAMBER BACKS CAREER EDUCATION COURSES”
“CARTER GETS HIGH MARKS FROM U.S. CHAMBER CHIEF”
“FLUNKOUT U TURNS GURU U AS TOWN TURNS ON Said a long-time Fairfield
Iowa resident: We got a big selling job from the Chamber of
Commerce.”“FIGHTING BACK, An Editorial in INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY, June 27,
1994: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce actually supported employer
mandates–a huge payroll-tax increase–until its membership
screamed.”“THOSE CRAZY RATINGS OF U.S. CHAMBER by William A. Rusher, KNOXVILLE
NEWS-SENTINEL February 23, 1981: For instance, two of the ‘key
votes’ on which the Chamber scored congressmen in 1980 involved
S.662, a measure that authorized the contribution of billions of
dollars in the period 1979-82 to the Inter-American Bank, the Asian
Development Bank and the African Development Fund–or, in short, in
the forms of handouts to nations of the so-called “developing world”
that are habitually hostile to the United States. Almost without
exception, the left-most members of the House of Representatives
supported the expenditure of nearly four billion of U.S. taxpayers’
dollars for this dubious purpose, and were kissed by the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce for doing so. Equally without exception, the
House’s staunchest conservatives fought to reduce the authorization
— and were gigged in the Chamber’s ratings for two ‘wrong’ votes. ““BEHIND THE MYTHS ABOUT FOREIGN AID By Sol M. Linowitz, THINK,
September-October 1964: Particularly revealing are the views of the
nation’s businessmen toward our foreign aid program. The United
States Chamber of Commerce has been a consistent supporter of the
aid program. . . This is as it should be–because foreign aid is
good business. And by this I mean much more than the startling fact
that over 80 percent of our foreign aid money is actually spent here
in the United States. ““SYSTEMS APPROACH TO METRO PROBLEMS, WASHINGTON REPORT, January 20,
1969: SYSTEMS TECHNIQUES are playing an increasingly vital role in
the business drive to eliminate urban problems, such as hard-core
unemployment, outmoded mass transit systems and substandard housing.
Chamber of Commerce executives from some major metropolitan areas
met with National Chamber staff members to discuss how the systems
approach might be used in meeting the community problems of our
largest cities.”“CITIZEN’S CHOICE TO FIGHT FOR TAXPAYERS, WASHINGTON REPORT, October
4, 1976: Business leaders active in the National Chamber announced a
plan to recapture Washington for hardworking taxpayers by founding
Citizen’s Choice, a new broadly-based citizen’s action group. . .
Jay VanAndel of Ada, Michigan, chairman of the board of Amway
Corporation and chairman of the board of Citizen’s Choice announced:
‘We will be mailing invitations to 10 million people over the next
12 months, telling the Citizen’s Choice story and urging these
individuals to join.'”“Let’s get back to the U. S. Chamber’s involvement in education. I
think I can assume that many of you are familiar with a WORMS
promotion called EDUCATION 2000. It is the education blanket of the
Nineties. One of its blanket organizations is called The National
Education Goals Panel. This panel, we are told is independent and
bipartisan. Membership consists of eight Governors, two
Administration officials and four members of Congress–plus, of
course, a professional staff. This booklet on National Education is
sent out to people who express an interest in education. It is an
attempt to recruit them to report to the Goals Panel on all aspects
of education in their communities.”“When someone sets goals for you, and you accept those goals as your
own what does it mean?. . . . . It means the goal setters have found
a way to control your behavior. He who sets the goals controls the
behavior. I don’t know what business governors and congressmen have
setting goals for education, and they probably don’t have time to do
much more than lend their names to the program, but the very fact
that their names are there adds prestige to the promotion in the
eyes of many people.“The 1993 HANDBOOK FOR LOCAL GOALS REPORTS explains the goals and
tells the reporters or assessors how to proceed. It asks and answers
a number of questions, such as:“What is the Purpose of the Handbook? ANSWER: This handbook is
designed to guide you as you begin developing a local assessment of
your community’s progress toward the National Education Goals. . .“Why Should Local Communities Develop a Local Goals Report? ANSWER: .
. . We cannot hope to achieve the National Education Goals unless we
all know what progress we are making toward them.“What should be reported? ANSWER: The GOALS REPORT does not just
cover one subject area, one grade level, or even only K-12
education. The six National Education Goals cover prenatal health
care to life-long adult learning.“Who Should Be Involved in Developing Local Goals Reports? ANSWER:
You will need the assistance of your local school, government,
higher education, health, social services, and community leaders, as
well as teachers, parents, students, business leaders, and adult
educators.When I receive WORMS
materials such as these I always look for the connection to the U. S. or
International Chambers of Commerce. It has become a habit. Sure enough,
it was in GOAL FIVE, Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning:* Every major American
business will be involved in strengthening the connection between
education and work.Suggestions for Local Goals Report Data
* In conjunction with your local Chamber of Commerce, other business
or governmental organizations, or your local higher education
institution, create an employee survey to assess some of the
attitudes of your local workforce. Use the following questions as a
guide.* Contact your local Chamber of Commerce chapters and other service
organizations for information and possible data on the extent of
local business involvement in education, and ways to report the
extent of this kind of activity in the community.* Develop your own community survey using the questions described
below as a framework.* Survey local businesses and civic organizations to determine the
percentage offering opportunities for community service and the
extent of participation in such activities.For further information on
Business Involvement in Education assessors were told to contact the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Workforce Preparation and Quality
Education 1615 H Street, NW; Washington, DC 20006.Yes, when it comes to the Goals 2000 blanket the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce is all wrapped up in it.And what about that closed-circuit television that the Chamber has used
so effectively in the past? No surprise. It is a regular monthly feature
of the Goals 2000 community takeover. It is called the Satellite Town
Meeting series.The Goals 2000 monthly COMMUNITY UPDATE tells us: The Department of
Education produces the Satellite Town Meeting series in partnership with
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Sponsors for the series include Miles,
Inc., The Procter and Gamble Fund, SC Johnson Wax, and the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting. To participate in the Satellite Town Meeting,
you can contact your local Public Broadcasting System (PBS) member
station, Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club, Chamber of Commerce, or Johnson
Controls branch office and ask if your group can use the facility as a
downlink site. Other possible sites are local schools, public libraries,
community colleges, cable television stations, universities and
technical schools, government offices, hospitals, businesses, hotels, or
even private residences with satellite dishes. Call 1-800-USA-LEARN for
further information or to register your participation.Isn’t it strange? Our governments–local, state and federal have spent
billions and billions of dollars on education. Every year the price goes
up. Yet nobody anywhere in any of our towns, cities, states or nation is
deemed capable of educating another person without constant instruction,
supervision, curriculum planning, goal setting, and organizing by the
WORMS. Do they think we are a bunch of idiots who can’t learn? . . .
puppets who can’t act without someone pulling the strings?. . .robots
who can’t move unless someone turns us on?Don’t ask me! Ask the U. S. and International Chambers of Commerce.
© Erica Carle – All Rights Reserved
Other articles by the same author:
The Chamber of Commerce – Part 1: Its Power and GoalsThe Intelligent
Student’s Guide to the New World Order
Erica Carle is an independent researcher and writer. She has a B.S.
degree from the University of Wisconsin. She has been involved in
radio and television writing and production, and has also taught
math and composition at the private school her children attended in
Brookfield, Wisconsin. For ten years she wrote a weekly column,
“Truth In Education” for WISCONSIN REPORT, and served as Education
Editor for that publication. Her books are available through
Education Service Council, P. O. Box 271, Elm Grove, Wisconsin
53122.GIVE US THE YOUNG–$5 Plus $2.00 P&H
WHY THINGS ARE THE WAY THEY ARE–$16 PLUS $4.00 P&H
BOTH BOOKS — $25 Total E-Mail
EricaCarle@aol.com
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