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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume. 33, Number 9. 25 June, 1970

The richest man in the world is a miserable old prick

page 22

The richest man in the world is a miserable old prick

Photograph of Haroldson Lafayette Hunt

Is it foolish to spend your money for the benefit of mankind?

People who have wealth should use it wisely, in a way that will do society the most good. They should be careful that in making supposedly charitable gifts their money will not be used to destroy or impair the American system and promote atheism.

You were a friend of the late Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. Did you ever support him financially?

No. I was reported to have done so, but I did not.

Were you in sympathy with his views?

I was very much in favor of his opposition to communism. I highly approve of anyone dedicated to opposing and fighting communism. I do not pick minor faults they may have, nor do I quarrel with their methods.

What freedoms do you feel we're losing?

We are losing the right to keep a fair share of the money we earn and a fair share of the profits we make. Wage earners pay about 80 percent of the personal income taxes and Social Security taxes collected by the Government.

President Kennedy was a firm beleiver in the necessity for a strong Federal Government. How did you rate him as President?

I rated him high enough as a prospect that I supported him. I expected Kennedy to be as constructive as the philosophy of his Catholic religion should lead him to be, and as constructive as the philosophy of his father should cause him to be.

How constructive is that?

Catholics are known for being anti-Communist. And I had never seen any evidence of fiscal irresponsibility in the Kennedy family.

Did you know that the book Oswald: Assassin or Fall Guy—and several other books and articles—implied that the assassination of President Kennedy was a right-wing conspiracy in which you were involved?

I have heard that. As I have said before, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was the greatest blow ever suffered by the cause of liberty. I know of no one who is critical of communism who would have wanted President Kennedy assassinated.

In Oswald: Assassin or Fall Guy, the author, Joachim Joesten, claimed that President Kennedy intended to make you and other oil millionaires pay a gready increased amount of income tax. "With that kind of money at stake," Joesten wrote, "murder, even Presidential murder, is not out of the question." That borders on a very serious charge against you. What do you have to say about this?

Before the 1960 elections, the Kennedys were in the oil business. Congress, rather than the President, formulates the law applicable to oil products. I was never apprehensive about President Kennedy's attitude. I had never heard of Oswald. After the assassination, I heard that the Justice Department had caused previous charges against Oswald to be dropped—which made it possible for him to be available to shoot anyone he might decide to shoot.

Which of President Johnson's policies do you consider pro-Socialist?

Nearly all of his domestic policies.

Do you favor any of President Johnson's Great Society programs?

I favor the society, with its gradual improvements from July 4, 1776 up to November 22, 1963, which made this the greatest of all nations. The Great Society is expensive to the nation, and it is at variance with the constantly improving society that made America great.

You've been quoted as saying that upper-bracket taxpayers should have seven times as many votes as those in the lower 40 percent. Wouldn't that be unjust, to say the least?

This gradual suffrage you are talking about is from the model constitution in my book Alpaca. I have never suggested that the United States adopt this. Alpaca was written to stimulate people in the emerging countries to adopt a constitution whereby they would try to govern themselves instead of yielding to a dictatorship. The purpose of graduated suffrage is to persuade the landed gentry and others close to the powers that be to participate in a republic where otherwise they would not take an equal vote with the less provident. In the freedom of the USA no one needs to live in an undesirable environment; anyone can improve his living standards and place of residence whenever he wishes.

Most civil rights leaders wouldn't agree that this is true for Negroes.

Anyone can uplift his lot in life-anyone who really wants to.

How do you feel about demonstrations?

Demonstrations are not the proper way to enact laws. They should not be incited by agitators seeking power and votes.

Do you regard Martin Luther King as an "agitator seeking power and votes"?

I share J. Edgar Hoover's opinion of him.

Are you saying that you agree with Hoover that King is "the biggest liar in the United States"?

I cannot detect that King [unclear: as] any regard for the truth, religion, sincerity, peace, morality or the best interest of the Negro people.

Do you think the threat of communism in America is very serious?

Yes, and I do not understand others who doubt it.

In what areas of American life do you feel the Communists are strongest?

In the most critical areas.

Such as?

Some of the most critical areas are the State Department, thhe Defense Department, the large foundations, the communications media and the entertainment field.

What makes you think they are strong in these areas?

The United States has been in charge of the world since World War Two, during which time the Communists have taken into domination one third of the world's population.

"I may be a philosopher, George, but I say, if we didn't belong on top, we wouldn't be on top."

"I may be a philosopher, George, but I say, if we didn't belong on top, we wouldn't be on top."

Do you agree with the Minutemen that there is an actual threat of armed Communist invasion?

I shouldn't be asked to agree with the Minutemen. The Communists need not invade the U.S. They are already here in numbers of at least two percent and will rule unless understood and restrained and defeated.

How did you arrive at that figure?

The pro-Communist sentiment in the United States today is greater than when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Kerenski government and took over Russia, and stronger in the U.S. than in some other countries before the take-over. It has always been agreed that the percent of Communist infiltration prior to their taking over a country has been around two percent or four percent.

A number of conservatives have proposed that we destroy Red China's nuclear capabilities now, before they become a strong nuclear power. Are you in favor of this?

It might not be too bad an idea. Certainly if we had done this to Russia, as General George C. Kenney recommended—which we easily could have done in the 1950s—I feel we wouldn't have nearly as many problems as we do today in the world. Our country would be a good deal more secure. Maybe knocking out Red China's nuclear installations now would prevent China's touching off a Third World War. Five years from now, we might wish we had done it.

You wish that we had knocked out the Soviet Union's nuclear capacity?

Yes. General Kenney, who was in charge of the Air Force in the Pacific, unfolded a plan to me in 1950 that the USA should put loaded bombers over Moscow, accompanied by transport planes which could pick up and convey Russia's nuclear material out of Russia, and tell 'Joe' that we would drop the bombs unless they placed their material in our transports. At that time we had more than ten times as many bombs as Russia, and the means of conveying them. They would have been forced to surrender their nuclear equipment. This or some similar actions should have been taken then.

What do you think of our foreign-aid program?

I think that if it were put to a vote, the American people would choose to end it. You know, each billion dollars our Government wastes—and foreign aid is a waste—costs the average American family $25. So far, we've thrown about 130 billion dollars down the foreign-aid rat hole. That's enough money for each family to send a youngster through college.

How do you think the United States is faring in the Cold War?

Pretty badly. The Communists are advancing and, att least most of the rime, we are retreating. We are happy when we can say that we haven't lost any ground to the Reds in a while, or at least not very much. But we should be asking ourselves where we have advanced freedom's line, where they have lost territories to the free world, where we have liberated people held in Communist slavery. The answer is that our victories are very few, and theirs are plentiful. We are losing the Cold War.

Do you think that there is any likelihood of our reaching a peaceful accommodation with the Soviet Union?

Let me say this: If we do, we're pone. If we reach an accommodation with the Soviets, it will be for the benefit of the Soviets and to our detriment. The Soviet leaders have repeatedly explained this to us for more than 40 years. As far as I'm concerned, this so-called peaceful co-existence means that we are peaceful while they try to do us in. It's nothing more than surrender on the instalment plan.

Could you be happy without a fortune?

Yes, I could give it all up—though perhaps not gladly. But there is little happiness, and a lot of trouble, in possessing a fortune. Happiness comes from pride of accomplishment. That's the great joy, and it can be realized by a very small entrepreneur or by a wage earner, large or small. This is the reason that private enterprise is so highly preferable to socialism and communism. So long as individual initiative is not sadly hampered with unnecessary regulations and restrictions, communism has a poor chance to win and take over.

Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, an ultra-right-wing Texan, is probably the richest man in the world. "It isn't just that Hunt is to the right of McKinley," it has been said, "He thinks communism started in this country when the Government took over the distribution of the mail"

"The Communists need not invade the United States," says Hunt. "Pro-Communist sentiment in the U.S. is already greater than when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Kerenski Government and took over Russia."

Of course, America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up.—Oscar Wilde.