 The...is...Laun Jean. Laun Jean watches have won ten World Fair Grand Prizes, twenty-eight gold medals and more honors for accuracy than any other timepiece. Laun Jean, the world's most honored watch, is made and guaranteed by the Laun Jean Wittner Watch Company. It's time for the Laun Jean Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour, brought to you every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A presentation of the Laun Jean Wittner Watch Company. Maker of Laun Jean, the world's most honored watch, and Wittner, distinguished companion to the world-honored Laun Jean. Good evening. This is Frank Knight. May I introduce our co-editors for this edition of the Laun Jean Chronoscope? Mr. William Bradford Huey, editor of the American Mercury, and Mr. Henry Heslett, editor of the Freeman and contributing editor for Newsweek Magazine. Our distinguished guest for this evening is the Honorable John V. Beamer, United States Congressman from Indiana. The opinions expressed are necessarily those of the speakers. Congressman Beamer, you represent the fifth district, I believe, in Indiana, and that is the home of William Otis, who is now in the Texas-Sovakian prison. In our Chronoscope interest, our Chronoscope audience is gravely concerned about the fate of Americans abroad and the treatment of Americans abroad, and I'd like you to tell us some of the background of that case. Yes, Mr. Heslett, Bill Otis came from Maryland, Indiana, which is in the fifth congressional district that I had the privilege to represent. In fact, Marion is only 20 miles from my hometown of Wabash, which is on the banks of Wabash. In April of 25, this last year, the newspapers and the press reportedly disappeared to Bill Otis, and immediately I began to receive telephone calls, letters, and telegrams from the people in the district asking me to do something. Reported to disappearance in Texas-Sovakia. That's right. Reported to disappearance in Texas-Sovakia. In fact, he has been sent over there as an Associated Press correspondent. I learned that he was arrested in the State Department, I think was on the following day, the 26th, reported that he had been in prison. And then it was early in May that I introduced the resolution in his behalf. In fact, I introduced several led resolutions and had other members of Congress that do likewise. Now, sir, this, of course, is just another one of these Americans that have been in effect grabbed as hostages by the Russian satellite countries. Isn't that correct? Well, yes, Mr. Huey. That's the way it appeared to us and the people back home. After all, Bill Otis is just another person who is being used, perhaps as an hostage, perhaps to use it for ransom purposes, or as many of us have felt to embarrass them to destroy the dignity of the United States. Yes, to cause us as a nation to lose faith in Europe, and then just for trading purposes. The only case against him is that he's an American, seized by our enemies to use for advantages against us. Well, of course, they said he was spying. Now, actually, if he was spying, he was really giving news the same as any other news reported with the gathering. And if he was spying, a lot of people in this country could be... Well, they had a mockery of a trial, too, didn't they? Yes, they had a trial. In fact, the matter is that none of the American embassy officials were permitted to even to see him. I don't think... Yes, they claimed they had a confession from him, too. Well, the chances are, and the reports seem to be quite true, that he was tortured in the usual methods of bringing a confession from him was secured at that in that method. In a way, I might say that at the trial, the only two Americans present were seated at the back end of the room, and so we do have a transcript of the traffic which was taken in shorthand by one of those secretaries. But what was actually charged against him, really, was that he was doing his duty as a correspondent, more or less, and getting the news. Wasn't that about it? That was, from their point of view, however, they must get the news directly from their sources and from the service of propaganda agents. Now, that's not the way we get the news in this country. Well, our audience then can understand that here is an American doing his duty in a foreign country. He's suddenly seized and thrown into jail and subjected to torture. Now the question becomes, what can we do and what are we doing about it, sir? Well, Bill, I'd like to get the Congressman to tell us, first of all, perhaps, what the background was and what actually has been done or has not been done. Now, Congress passed this resolution of yours, did it not? That's right. And what did that provide? Well, this resolution, which was House Joint Concurrent Resolution 140, expressed the sense of the Congress that they should sever trade relations with Czechoslovak, in other words, impose economic sanctions. It didn't have anything to do at that time with the severance of diplomatic relations. And did the State Department do anything effective along that line? Well, they employed, perhaps what we might term as a legal procedure, the general agreement on trade in Paris, which didn't meet until September. In Geneva, Switzerland, and the fat families, did secure the consent of the signatory nations with the exception of satellite powers, of course, to sever their relations with the Czechs under the agreement on general agreement on trade in Paris. I might add, by the way, that they haven't had very much result as expected about it. Well, that result is that Otis is still a prisoner in Czechoslovakia. The bad thing is that he's still there and he's been there since last April. Now, sir, what can we do as a nation? What could we do now? Now, you recommended in your resolution one course of action. What about severing diplomatic relations with these people? Well, at the time, it was felt that perhaps the better part of wisdom was the wisdom that might be displayed having another method to use, another, shall we say, another string to our bow. In other words, if the economic sanctions that were proposed by this resolution, if they did not produce the results, and then a proposal could be introduced to sever relations with Czechoslovakia. Now, in your effort, sir, to get to Otis's release, have you had cooperation, satisfactory cooperation from the State Department? Well, frankly, I have had, I feel, very weak cooperation. They have stated that certain things have been done rather nebulous terms, and I still can't report to you what they have reported to me. Fact of the matter is, of course, they did affect some changes through the general agreements on trade and tariffs, but even so, I want to point out to you that in 1951, several months were included in that year when they could have caught relations, the Czechs still imported more merchandise to the United States than was imported the entire year of 1949 and nearly as much as they imported in 1950. So that has, they really haven't done much on that. Actually, the Czechs now are asking, or the Czech communists are asking, for a form of ransom, form of blackmail for the release of Otis, aren't they? Well, it does not seem to be a pattern they're following. Yes, for example, they asked $120,000 in wasn't it for the $420,000? The four fires were put down in Hungary, and you remember the Volger case? We had to make a trade there. They had to make a trade? I don't know the amount, but it's quite an enormous amount, of course, concessions there, and he'd been in prison for 17 months. And I believe this is true, sir. I believe Mr. Vogler gives credit for his release to the press and to his wife and gives no credit to the State Department for his release. Isn't that correct, sir? That's very true. In fact, Mrs. Beamer and I had the pleasure of meeting and spending an evening with Mr. and Mrs. Robert Vogler, and he very infact, says that he must give credit not only to Mrs. Vogler, who worked untimely and unceasingly for his release, but also to the press and the radio of this country that labored in his behalf. Well, Congressman, do you think we ought to pay ransom again for Otis as we did for Vogler and for the four American fliers? I would say, emphatically, no. It was a time in early history of this republic when we were very small, and we did pay ransom and tribute to the tyrants and the barbaric post. But even then, even then, you remember, the president spent a decade with the small leadership to put a stop to that type of rigidity. I think it's quite beneath our dignity to even consider it, don't you? Well, then, I'd like to ask this. I'd like to turn Mr. Huey's question around about breaking off diplomatic relations with Czechoslovakia and ask, why should we continue such relations? What do we get out of it outside of humiliation and insults and seizing and kidnapping of our representatives there? Well, may I repeat the answer that's been given or the reason that they have given me in some instances? They say that as long as we have the diplomatic relations there in the country, we do have listening posts. But I question the validity of the strength of that argument because I just wonder how much they're getting or how much they're succeeding in that. Well, they have listening posts here by the same token, haven't they? And they send over pretty skilled listeners and put a mild term for them. Not only that, they have access to everything they want. Yes, they have access over there to everything, and while they're very restricted, extremely restricted in those countries. All our representatives are restricted, even to the number of employees they can have. And you've just stated to our listeners, sir, that there are ways by which we could hit them in the pocketbook that we are not using, isn't that correct? I feel that one of the most infantic ways to affect this thing is to step upon the pocketbook of the tech. They need our American dollars, first of all, for the weekend currency. And they need it for the propaganda purposes, even perhaps to send propaganda back here, which they're doing quite extensively. I see. Now, sir, our sense, Mr. Bogler says that the only way he got out of Hungary was because the American press and the American people got him out. Suppose that some of our listeners would like to help get Bill Otis out. What can our listeners do as a practical manner to help? Well, there are a lot of things that they can do. It isn't necessary to write to me. I'm working as long as I can, as much as I can. I appreciate letters, and we've received many of them. I wasted every person who was interested in the dignity of the United States and in Bill Otis. And after all, may I interrupt? Bill Otis is more or less a symbol today. He isn't just a man anymore. He's a symbol of freedom of speech and freedom of press, even freedom of life. I'd like for every person to write to President Truman and to Secretary of State Atchist and then insist that they take some positive action rather than just slap on the wrist. I'm sure that our audience has very much appreciated this. The hearing is used tonight. Sir, thank you for being with us. The editorial board for this edition of the Lone Gene Chronoscope was Mr. William Bradford Huey and Mr. Henry Hazlis. Our distinguished guest was the Honorable John V. Beamer, United States Congressman from Indiana. The Winter Olympic Games recently completed at Oslo were exclusively timed by Lone Gene to one-tenth and a hundredth of a second. Our reward was this telegram. Lone Gene equipment used for all timekeeping during the Winter Olympic Games in 1952 all worked perfectly. Thanks for your valuable cooperation signed the organizing committee. Now, that's a wonderful telegram and we're all ever so pleased. Lone Gene was actually official watch for the three great Olympic sports events of the year, the Winter Olympic Games at Oslo, the third Bolivarian Games at Caracas in Venezuela, and the first Pan-American Games held in Buenos Aires in Argentina. And now we're proud to announce that the United States Olympic Committee has selected Lone Gene watches for timing all events for the selection of the United States Olympic team of 1952. So you see, wherever precise timing is important in sports, aviation, and science, the pre-eminent choice of watches is Lone Gene, the only watch in history to win ten World Fair grand prizes, twenty-eight gold medals, and highest honors for accuracy from the leading government observatories. Lone Gene, the world's most honored watch, premier product of the Lone Gene Wittner Watch Company since 1866, maker of watches of the highest character. We invite you to join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening at this same time for the Lone Gene Promise Coat, a television journal of the important issues of the hour, broadcast on behalf of Lone Gene, the world's most honored watch, and Wittner, distinguished companion to the world's honored Lone Gene. This is Frank Knight, reminding you that Lone Gene and Wittner watches are sold and service from coast to coast by more than 4,000 leading jewelry displayed as emblems, agency for Lone Gene Wittner Watch. This is the CBS...