 Select at random a nation caught in the complex tides of the 20th century. Examine its people and the pattern of their lives. Like people everywhere, they exchange the products of their labor. They seek what is useful and what is beautiful. Their pleasures are simple and their joys are few. Over three-quarters of the earth's population, there is simply the passing of the years between birth and death. Time of life, there is growing old, and there is labor. There is little to show for it all. The coastal plain that sweeps down to the Pacific Ocean. They live high in the Andes, the Sierra that bisects the land. They live deep in the jungle of the Oriente. Ecuador has many faces. Indian or Spaniard or a mixture of both. But in the next decade, this figure will double. An uncertain present is woven the changing tapestry of the future. Here, as in so many other places on this troubled earth, can be seen the conditions that give rise to conflict, to riot and revolution. Here, in this place of pride and poverty, can be found the familiar challenges that threaten the future of us all. We are here in Ecuador, 2,000 miles beyond our shores. Through long days and longer nights, the men and women of our foreign service, of our foreign aid and information agencies, of our armed forces, pursue the unending struggle for tomorrow. This is one day in one nation. It could have been any day in any one of many nations where our future is being formed. 8.30 in the morning in Quito, capital city of Ecuador. A meeting between our ambassador and the ruling junta of Ecuador. Castro Jijón. Frail. Gandara. Cabrera. This is Maurice Bernbaum, our ambassador to Ecuador. He carries the full burden of responsibility to the president and secretary of state for implementing United States policy in Ecuador. Ambassador, you spoke at first about questions relating to the Alliance for Progress. You said that in reality the loans are being increased, but they are not being used. I want to tell you that the use of these loans is being stepped up. But sometimes we cannot use them immediately because the banks, for example the bank for inter-American development, do not allow you to act freely. The junta assumed power in the midst of a political and economic crisis. They have worked to institute much needed reforms and have declared their intention to prepare the way for an early return to constitutional government. This interchange of ideas is very important in arriving at any conclusion. This interchange of ideas is very important in arriving at any conclusion. This interchange of ideas is very important in arriving at any conclusion. We began our talks four or five months ago, and we have held a number of talks with Minister Cardenas to discover what problems were involved relating to the loans so that we would be able to eliminate those problems. Maurice Bernbaum, 54, for 28 years, a career foreign service officer. Fluent in Spanish, experienced in the ways of Latin America, he maintains close contact with the leadership of the country to urge our point of view, to defend our interests and to work for maximum effectiveness of our joint programs in Ecuador. There are many ways in which we seek to strengthen a free nation. Some as simple as helping the people of a tiny village build a school, some as simple as helping the people of a tiny village build a school, some as simple as helping the people of a tiny village build a school. For the face of tomorrow is the face of a child. Much of what we want for Ecuador can be seen within the walls of this half-finished school. The desire for the school and the labor come from the people of Ecuador. The government of Ecuador and the United States will supply the materials and the money. In Ecuador the need for schools is critical. The rate of illiteracy is among the highest in the world. The people do not read or write, and radio is the chief medium of communication in a radio booth inside the United States Embassy in Quito. Each year the United States Information Service here produces more than 700 radio programs in the Spanish and Indian languages. More than 70% of all the stations in Ecuador will carry these programs. This is a news broadcast in Quechuan, the language of the Ecuadorian Indian. F. McKiernan is the Assistant United States Information Officer in Ecuador. Forty years old, a native of Massachusetts, he had broad experience in radio and station management. He has been with the United States Information Service for over 10 years. This morning he hopes to convince the owner of a rural station who has not been using our programs to reconsider his position. Not every Ecuadorian station is favorably disposed of the American viewpoint. But it is McKiernan's job to use every means available to reach the minds of the people. He must explain the nature of the programs and then patiently and honestly describe their content. We might be interested in these programs, but I would like you to give me a more detailed explanation of the content. These programs are taped in our studio every week. Three commentaries are on each tape. Each one runs five minutes. So we have 15 minutes of programming every week. Is it anti-communist commentary? It is anti-communist commentary. About what is happening in Cuba? About what is happening in Cuba? The methods by which communists are infiltrating the fields of education, government, and the military in Latin America. In every corner of this troubled world, the battle for peace and freedom is being waged. We are deeply committed to this struggle, for its outcome will determine our own future as a people and as a nation. At 10.15 at the University of Guayaquil, Dan Clare, the United States Vice-Consul, is talking with students about the overnight appearance of communist posters around their university. Where did these posters come from? Are the artists here? When were they put up? Yesterday. Yesterday. Also last night. Recently there has been an outbreak of fish poisoning in the rivers. Clare believes that the United States is being thought responsible and wants to find out why. How are they getting along in Palente? Is it true that the fish are dying? What is happening? Some say that it is caused by a substance used in cultivating bananas. They are testing to see whether it will poison the fish. Others say it is radioactivity. Radioactivity. It is a strong hint that we are being blamed. From what Clare learns here, a course of counter-action can be planned. Dan Clare, 26, a new Foreign Service Officer at his first overseas post, is four years out of the University of Virginia. It is part of his job to maintain continuing contacts with these students who are a political influence today and will be the country's leaders tomorrow. 11-10 in the city jail in Quito. Harry Lofton, Consul at the Embassy, is looking after the interests of an American citizen in trouble here in Ecuador. Harry Lofton is a native of South Carolina, a graduate of the University of Southern California, a veteran of four years' wartime service with the Marine Corps, and 15 years in the Foreign Service. Commissioner, you have an American citizen in jail. He was flying near Quito without permission. His plane developed engine trouble, and he was forced to land at your airport. The police think he's a smuggler, and he is in jail now. The problem is that he is quite sick and needs a doctor. Consul, you understand, the problem is really quite serious. Landing in Ecuador without permission is not permitted, and the police must investigate whether it was really accidental or whether he had other reasons. We cannot allow him to leave jail. Our officials must be notified, and we will have to follow the regular legal procedures. You are a very understanding commissioner, but we would not like this man to die in jail. Wouldn't it be possible to bring a doctor here? We will allow a doctor to come here to see him. This, too, is part of our mission overseas to protect the lives and property of American citizens abroad. It is high known on the docks of Guayaquil, Chief Port and Commercial Center of Ecuador. The labor unions in South America have not always been a force for progress. They have frequently been infiltrated by extremist movements, seeking levers of power. But organized labor can play a crucial role in determining Ecuador's future. Our labor officer in Guayaquil is Martin Forester. Thirty years old, he holds a degree from Georgetown University and came to the Foreign Service from the staff of the International Ladies' Government Workers Union. He is here involved in the given take of discussion with a group of union leaders and members whose commitment is not yet clear. Jim Shea, our senior labor attaché in Quito, has come down from the capital to join Forester for the meeting. He is 40, comes from Connecticut, and is another Georgetown graduate and former labor union man. He has served in Latin America for eight years as a Foreign Service Officer. Shea and Forester speak the language of these workers and command their respect. The elementary school provides seven years of education and the high school and other three. Everything is paid for according to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement with the company. Friends, let me ask you something. With these goals realized, how do you feel about communism? Are there any agitators here? There is no communism here because our relations with the company are good and because of the skills acquired as a result of .4. There is no communism here because our relations with the company are good and because of the skills acquired as a result of .4. If I remember correctly, you were opposed to some of the provisions of the Alliance for Progress because many of the workers say that the Alliance doesn't do enough for the workers and the poor people of the country. But that isn't the truth. For example, you have the labor union school. You have the labor union school. You have the labor union school. You have the labor union school. Stop there. The advantages of the Alliance for Progress do not reach the workers and the poor people directly. Its benefits remain with those in power and go no further. It reaches the workers at the school, doesn't it? These two men are our voice to labor here. They are able to give practical support and continuing encouragement to those who are working to make labor a dynamic and progressive force in Ecuador. It is 1.35 in the jungles near Santo Domingo. A United States Army team of guerrilla warfare specialists is helping to train the men of the Ecuadorian Army. The presence of an effective military force in Ecuador will help deter and if necessary overcome any resort to violence by groups opposed to progress. At the same time, on a mountainside north of Quito, a road-building project is being carried out under the Civic Action Program, a venture in cooperation between the Ecuadorian armed forces and our own. The purpose of this Civic Action Project to help bring the resources of the Ecuadorian military to bear on a positive program of community action, is to build for peace as well as for defense. Our military mission chief is Air Force Colonel C.R. Meyer, Dutch Meyer. He and his men offer equipment, training and advice. Ecuadorian soldiers build a road covering only a short distance. But when measured in terms of achievement, it spans the distance between yesterday and tomorrow. It is three o'clock in the mountain village of Cayambe. In the developing Alliance for Progress, the town plan is becoming a highly effective tool for helping people to help themselves. The idea is simple. If the people of a community are willing to work together and pool their resources for the improvements they need, their government and our government will work with our man on this town plan project here in Cayambe is Leo Ruelas, 37, a Californian, and San Jose State College graduate. He had been a teacher and businessman before he came to work in our aid program. At this meeting, the town plan committee of Cayambe is reviewing the results of two months of organizing their own resources. We're concerned with a market project. That's the second one listed here. And I would like to begin the discussion. It requires land, materials, and labor. What resources do we have to raise the $12,000 needed in local contributions? Señor Ruelas, I take pleasure in telling you on behalf of the municipal council that we have already donated 50,000 sucres. The provincial council pledges 40,000 sucres, of which we have already donated 20,000. That is the provincial council of Pichincha. Now how are we going to solve the problem of labor? The people pledge 20,000 sucres worth of labor. Besides this, the workers will contribute materials such as sand, gravel, and rocks worth about 40,000 sucres. Now we still need the land. Has that been resolved? As a member of the council, I am pleased to tell you that the municipal council bought the land for 80,000 sucres. Although the United States is willing to donate $5,500 so that the project can take place, I would like to congratulate you because what you have achieved is really an example of an alliance for progress here in the town of Cayambe. You have, by your own efforts, obtained all the resources. We come to join with your efforts and resources to help realize the project for the benefit of all the people of Cayambe. Pride in their own achievements. And so do we strengthen our bonds with the people of Ecuador. Central to our mission in South America is the Inter-American Alliance for Progress and here in the Ecuadorian Mountain Village of Cayambe the alliance is visibly at work, helping people to change their own lives for the better. It is late afternoon in the Barrios Suburbanos, the slums of Guayaquil. Here live Ecuadorians in conditions of unbelievable squalor. Feeds anger and despair. Anger and despair are ingredients of violence, of lawlessness, of revolt. In the bitterness of discontent, such doctrines as communism can take root and flourish. In the Barrios of Guayaquil, some work for this and some work to prevent it. Robert E. White from Massachusetts, United States consul in Guayaquil. 37 years old, graduate of St. Michael's College in Vermont. A foreign service officer for nine years with previous service in Hong Kong and Canada. Bob White is deeply concerned over the continuing growth of these slums and is trying to help inexperienced local Barrios leaders improve the conditions that exist here. And is he going to send the trucks here? That is still unresolved. They have given us the authorization, but we must first have a census. After the census is completed, they will then determine our needs, mainly the felling of the streets. White is trying to get these people to take a first step together in their own behalf. What we want principally is a school to start educating the children so that they will become real citizens for the future. Well, now you have an opportunity to get a school here. If you send this letter to the representative of the Ministry of Education in Guayaquil, and he gives his authorization, they will send a teacher. Care can come in with a restaurant for the children. But first, you must have the approval of the government. Do I make myself clear? What other problems do we have? There are many other problems. For the spreading poverty of the barrios lies like a shroud over our hopes for a stable, productive tomorrow for the people of Ecuador. It is 7.30 in the evening in Quito. Earl Lubenski, chief of our embassy's political section, and his wife have invited to their home a group of young Ecuadorian politicians. Lubenski is a Missourian, 43 years old, a graduate of Missouri Valley College and a foreign service officer for 16 years. We have already touched on that problem, the business of the political bosses that you have here. And I want to discuss what political parties can do in this country to overcome this problem that they admit having. These younger leaders of rival parties are trying to build for the future. All want progress. But what is the best way to achieve it? They do not agree among themselves. Lubenski has been a part of many such discussions here in the last three years and has listened to with respect. His job is not simple. His only tools are patience and understanding and a deep knowledge of the Ecuadorian scene. He does not try to win men's minds by speaking loudly. He has no set place of business, no office hours. He is working now. One day, one country, a small segment of time in a tiny corner of this world, a handful of Americans working to shape our future. Lyndon Johnson, President of the United States, put it this way. We have gradually become aware that America is forever bound up in the affairs of the whole world. Our own future is linked to the future of all. In great capitals and in tiny villages, in the councils of great powers, and in the rooms of unknown planners, events are being set in motion which continually call upon our attention and our resources. Prophecy is always unsure. But if anything is certain, it is that this nation can never again retreat from world responsibility. We will be involved in the world for the rest of our history. We must accustom ourselves to working for liberty in the community of nations as we have pursued it in our community of states. The struggle is not merely long. The struggle is unending.