like it is not a violation of any United States law or any U.S. Postal regulation, nor is it counter to any international postal agreement to which the U.S. Government is a party.

The current U.S. Postal Service position in this matter is based on a 1965 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Lamont v. The Postmaster General; the citation is 381 U.S. 301. A U.S. Post Office procedure in effect at that time, that is, 1965, required U.S. addressees of foreign-origin communist political propaganda to indicate in writing to the Post Office that they desired to receive such material.

Under that procedure, the U.S. Bureau of Customs at the port of entry into the United States segregated apparent communist political propaganda from foreign-deposited mail. The Post Office then withheld such mail from delivery within the United States until the addressee requested delivery in writing. The Post Office maintained records of such individuals.

The Supreme Court, in its decision in the Lamont case, held that this procedure was in violation of the first amendment to the Constitution and was thus unconstitutional.

Since that time the Postal Service, formerly known as the U.S. Post Office, has had no procedure for identifying or monitoring foreign-origin communist political propaganda placed in the U.S. mails for delivery.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Did you check with the Bureau of Customs?

Mr. SOLOMON. Yes. Inquiry at the Bureau of Customs of the Treasury Department determined that the Bureau of Customs is authorized to seize any article entering this country by mail or by other means if the article appears to be material the importation of which is hibited under section 1305, title 19, of the U.S. Code. It was stated that foreign communist political propaganda is considered to come within this statute.

If such material is seized, a decision is obtained from the Department of Justice as to whether it falls within the restrictions of the statute, and if so, it is destroyed.

About 5 percent of the foreign-origin mail coming into the United States is screened by officials of the Bureau of Customs at international mail facilities in the U.S. I learned that there has been no detention or seizure of copies of Granma or other Cuban printed oriented propaganda in recent years.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Did you determine whether there are Federal regulations covering the importation of material such as Granma in bulk or for commercial purposes?

Mr. SOLOMON. At the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Depart ment of the Treasury, I was informed that Foreign Assets Control has responsibility for administering controls on all materials imported into the United States, including foreign-origin propaganda, in order to prevent foreign exchange earnings by specified countries. Such controls are currently applied to three countries-North Vietnam, North Korea, and Cuba.

Foreign Assets Control prohibits the unlicensed importation of any material for commercial purposes. Commercial firms may be licensed to receive such material, but the profit from its sale in this country

must go into a frozen account, which prevents the return of such funds to the proscribed country.

In addition, there are organizations licensed with the approval of the Library of Congress to receive political propaganda materials from these countries, such as approved research projects, college libraries, and the like.

Mr. SCHULTZ. What happens to foreign-origin political propaganda in bulk from proscribed countries, such as Granma?

Mr. SOLOMON. Such material in bulk from the proscribed countries is turned over to the Bureau of Customs at the mail facility of the port of U.S. entry. Customs officials determine whether the U.S. addressee is licensed to receive it, and, if not, it is destroyed.

It was further indicated in my inquiries that members of the Venceremos Brigade, those persons invited to Cuba to assist Fidel Castro in the cane fields, often carry into the U.S. amounts of Cuban political propaganda. The Bureau of Customs is authorized to seize such material, but often these materials are admitted as foreignobtained gifts to the returning U.S. citizens, and of no monetary value. Mr. SCHULTZ. Mr. Solomon, I would direct your attention to Exhibit No. 5, which is before you there. Both Dr. Manolo Reyes and Dr. Davis have commented on this packet to the effect relative to its propaganda values. Did you conduct any inquiries concerning this material?

Mr. SOLOMON. Yes, I did. Dr. Reyes informed me that this Cuba Resource Packet could be obtained from the U.S. Catholic Conference in Washington, D.C., by mail for 2 dollars a copy, and I made inquiry at the Latin-American division of the U.S. Catholic Conference. Mr. SCHULTZ. Where is this located?

Mr. SOLOMON. That is at 1430 K Street, NW., in Washington.
Mr. SCHULTZ. What did you learn there?

Mr. SOLOMON. I determined that the Resource Packet was a product. of an organization known as the Cuba Resource Council, which is connected with the National Council of Churches in New York City. The packet shows as its point of origin the Cuba Resource Center, which is an adjunct of the Cuba Resource Council.

The Latin American Division of the U.S. Catholic Conference had been requested to accept 200 copies of this packet and to publicize its availability through the Catholic Conference in Washington.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Did you make further inquiry to identify the Cuba Resource Council?

Mr. SOLOMON. Yes, I did conduct such inquiry and determined that approximately 2 years ago the Cuba Resource Council was formed in New York City by professional church people with an interest in Cuba. The council has been supported and financed by church organizations and denominations in this country, including the National Council of Churches, the Methodist Church, other Protestant denominations, and by the Catholic Church.

Mr. SCHULTZ. What kind of a budget does this council have? Mr. SOLOMON. It was stated that the council operates on a budget of $20,000 a year, which is contributed by the organizations and denominations which support it.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Do they maintain a coordinator and office space?

Mr. SOLOMON. There is no current coordinator of the council, and it is composed of approximately 20 professional church people who meet together about bimonthly. The council at the present time has no office space or officers.

Mr. SCHULTZ. On the back of the packet it indicates an office address of the Church Center for the United Nations, 777 U.N. Plaza, New York City. Can you identify this organization?

Mr. SOLOMON. Yes. In a publication of the center itself, the Church Center for the United Nations is described as, and I quote

a place where persons of faith work together for world peace and the support of the noble objectives and programs of the United Nations. It is an educational center for those who wish to know about the U.N. and support it more effectively in their churches, communities, and nations. *

The center itself was completed in 1963 and it is supported by many religious faiths and denominations.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Did you conduct further inquiry at the Church Center for the United Nations regarding the packet, Cuba: 100 Years of Struggle?

Mr. SOLOMON. Yes, I did.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Would you advise us what you determined?

Mr. SOLOMON. The inquiry revealed that the Cuba Resource Council was formed for three main purposes, the first of which was to counteract the consistent attacks against the Cuban revolution in the United States press; the second, to educate the U.S. church people that the church can exist in a socialist state; and third, to provide facilities for the travel of U.S. church people to Cuba.

It was stated that the council makes requests of the Cuban Government in order to gain access to Cuba by church people in the United States.

The prime activity to date of the Cuba Resource Council has been the preparation and distribution of the Cuba Resource Packet entitled Cuba: 100 Years of Struggle. It was produced to show "the other side" of the Cuban revolution and it is comprised, as has been described, almost entirely of reprints of articles, writings, and speeches. It shows that it was compiled at the Cuba Resource Center, 12th floor of the Church Center for the United Nations at 777 United Nations Plaza, New York City.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Do you have any information of how many copies of this have been printed and what edition it is in?

Mr. SOLOMON. The packet is in its second edition at this time. About 3,000 copies of the original were prepared, and almost all reportedly have been distributed. The revised edition, which is dated in February 1971, contains certain new material, among which is included a translation of the transcript by the Cuban Government of the speech given by Prime Minister Fidel Castro on July 26, 1970, which is the official anniversary of the Cuban revolution.

Mr. SCHULTZ. What is the distribution of the Cuba Resource Packet and how is it now handled?

Mr. SOLOMON. The distribution is currently being handled through the offices of the representation of the Methodist Church to the Church Center for the United Nations on the 12th floor of the center at 777 U.N. Plaza, New York City.

Each denomination or organization of the church which supports the Cuba Resource Council was requested to accept copies of the packet for distribution through its own facilities, and there reportedly has been a steady flow of requests for the packet itself.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Does the Cuba Resource Council operate any other service for the Cuban propaganda?

Mr. SOLOMON. I determined that the Cuba Resource Council also operates a speakers' bureau, which makes available for public appearances individuals who have traveled to Cuba.

One other comment I would like to make: It was determined also that the Cuba Resource Council reportedly now faces financial difficulties which will cause it possibly to cease operations by the end of the current year.

It was stated that church members of the various denominations supporting the council are said to have made complaints about the pro-Cuban revolution tone of the material contained in this packet and that the denominations are undecided as to whether further financial support shall go to the council.

Mr. SCHULTZ. I would like to ask just a couple of general questions, Mr. Solomon.

What in your knowledge are the principal efforts of Cuba within the United States on behalf of communism, as far as the internal security of this country is concerned?

Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, testified before the Subcommittee on Appropriations of the House on March 17, 1971, and in the course of that testimony stated that the mission of Cuba to the United Nations in New York City is used by Fidel Castro as his base for intelligence operations in this country, and further, that over half of the entire complement of the Cuban mission are officers of the Cuban intelligence

service.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Did he characterize these individuals?

Mr. SOLOMON. Yes. He stated that these intelligence officers were well-trained professionals who, under the cloak of diplomatic immunity, have been deeply involved in varied activities in the United States, including the dissident student movement, the Puerto Rican independence movement, the racial and new left movements in this country.

He also said in his testimony that Fidel Castro has made a lasting impression on dissident groups in the United States which have visited and worked in Cuba. He commented that some 1,300 members of the Venceremos Brigade went to Cuba in 1970 to cut sugarcane, and while they were there they were subjected to heavy doses of revolutionary propaganda. In addition, they were reminded that they were the vanguard of the revolution in the United States.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Have you conducted an inquiry regarding Venceremos Brigade?

Mr. SOLOMON. No, I have not, because this is a matter which has been under investigation by the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, and we did not wish to duplicate the investigation.

Mr. SCHULTZ. Thank you, Mr. Solomon.

Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions.

Mr. PEPPER. Do you have any questions, Mr. Zion?

Mr. ZION. No.

Mr. PEPPER. Thank you very much. We appreciate the valuable information you have given us.

Mr. SOLOMON. Thank you.

Mr. PEPPER. Have you other witnesses, Mr. Schultz?

Mr. SCHULTZ. We have no witnesses until tomorrow, sir.

Mr. PEPPER. This will conclude the hearing today. We will continue our hearing at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning in this room. We will be in recess until that time.

(Whereupon, at 11:23 a.m., Wednesday, October 6, 1971, the subcommittee adjourned, to reconvene at 10 a.m., Thursday, October 7, 1971.)