MAY 2 2 1951 
 
 * 
 
 OFFICE 
 
 OF PUBLIC 
 
 AFFAIRS 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF STATE 
 
Department of State Publication 4042 
 Economic Cooperation Series 25 
 
 This series of Progress Reports on the Point 
 Four Program is designed to provide background 
 information in summary form on developments in 
 the President's program for world economic 
 progress through cooperative technical assistance. 
 
POINT FOUR MOVES AHEAD 
 
 On October 19, 1950, the Governments of the United States and Iran an- 
 nounced the signing of a Technical Assistance Agreement. This marked the 
 start of the first major new project undertaken under the President's Point 
 Four Program. 
 
 The Authorization 
 
 On June 5, 1950, President Truman signed the Act for International De- 
 velopment, authorizing the broad program for development of economically 
 underdeveloped areas which the President had proposed in Point Four of his 
 Inaugural Address of January 20, 1949. 
 
 In the Act for International Development, the Congress spelled out the 
 philosophy and goals of the Point Four Program. Stating that "the peoples of 
 the United States and other nations have a common interest in the freedom 
 and in the economic and social progress of all peoples, " the act calls for 
 technical cooperation with other peoples in developing their resources and in 
 improving their working and living conditions. "Such progress can further 
 the secure growth of democratic ways of life, the expansion of mutually 
 beneficial commerce, the development of international understanding and good 
 will, and the maintenance of world peace. " 
 
 The act also stresses the necessity for capital investment in underde- 
 veloped areas to accompany technical cooperation in furthering the objectives 
 of Point Four. It recognizes the need for adequate safeguards, for both the 
 private investor and the receiving country, to insure fair treatment and eco- 
 nomic utilization without exploitation. Congress has not yet acted, however, 
 on legislation to provide specific safeguards to private capital investment. 
 
 The heart of the Point Four legislation is the authorization for this Gov- 
 ernment to plan, ' undertake, administer, and carry out bilateral technical 
 cooperation agreements with underdeveloped countries and to cooperate with 
 and contribute to development programs of the United Nations, the Organi- 
 zation of American States, and other international agencies. 
 
 In the negotiation of bilateral Point Four agreements with underdeveloped 
 countries, certain statutory requirements are set forth in accordance with 
 proyisions of the Act for International Development. Before assistance can be 
 given, it must be determined that a recipient country 
 
 1. pays a fair share of the cost of the program; 
 
 2. provides all necessary information concerning such program and gives 
 the program full publicity; 
 
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 GPO-O-State 263 
 
3. seeks to the maximum extent possible full coordination and integration 
 of technical cooperation programs being carried on in that country; 
 
 4. endeavors to make effective use of the results of the program; and 
 
 5. cooperates with other countries participating in the program in the 
 mutual exchange of technical knowledge and skills. 
 
 The act states further that the "participation of private agencies and per- 
 sons shall be sought to the greatest extent practicable. " 
 
 Finally, the act outlines the basic organization for administering Point 
 Four. The President is given full authority over the program, but he may ex- 
 ercise that authority through the Secretary of State or any other officer of the 
 Government. With the advice and consent of the Senate, the President shall 
 appoint someone to plan, implement, and manage the programs authorized. 
 This person is the Administrator of the Point Four Program. 
 
 To assist the Administrator in determining and evaluating policy, the act 
 establishes an advisory board, composed of not more than 13 private citizens 
 representing broad interests, including business, labor, agriculture, public 
 health, and education. 
 
 Where the Money Goes 
 
 On September 6, 1950, President Truman signed the General Appropri- 
 ation Act of 1951, including the appropriation for the first year of Point Four. 
 
 The amount designated for the Program is $34, 500, 000. Of the total, the 
 United States has contributed $12,007,500 to the expanded Technical Assist- 
 ance Program of the United Nations. Fifty-two other governments are con- 
 tributing approximately $8, 000, 000. 
 
 One million dollars of the Point Four appropriation has been allocated to 
 cooperative projects sponsored by the Organization of American States and by 
 intergovernmental regional groups such as the Caribbean Commission and the 
 South Pacific Commission. 
 
 The sum of $398,000 was allotted to the Department of Commerce to pro- 
 vide information to American businessmen on investment opportunities and 
 the business problems of underdeveloped areas. 
 
 To continue the nearly one hundred existing technical assistance projects 
 of United States Government agencies requires $6, 600,000 of the appropri- 
 ation. Included in this allocation are the cooperative programs of the Institute 
 of Inter- American Affairs and of the former Interdepartmental Committee on 
 Scientific and Cultural Cooperation. 
 
 The net figure for initiating new projects and administrative needs is a 
 little less than $ 14, 500, 000. This amount includes $ 3, 500, 000 tentatively al- 
 located to Latin America; $4, 500, 000 to the Near East and Africa; $2, 000, 000 
 to the Far East; and about $4,500,000 for administrative and program funds 
 
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and to provide a reserve. The cooperative progrann with Iran, for example, 
 has received an initial allocation of $500,000. 
 
 Although these figures may seem small by comparison with the urgent 
 needs of the underdeveloped nations, it is important to remember that the 
 first year's activities are largely concerned with planning and staffing of 
 projects and negotiation of agreements with requesting countries. The pre- 
 liminary work necessarily includes investigations, studies, and surveys be- 
 fore actual operations in many areas can be undertaken. 
 
 The recipient countries themselves contribute a fair share to the cost of 
 aid programs. It is estimated that the over-all contribution by recipient 
 countries during the first year will equal what the United States and inter- 
 national agencies expend; and experience has shown that this proportion may 
 rise in the future to three times what the assisting agency contributes. 
 
 How Point Four Is Administered 
 
 To start the machinery for Point Four rolling, the President on Septem- 
 ber 8, 1950, signed an Executive order "Providing for the Administration of 
 the Act for International Development. " 
 
 This Executive order authorized the Secretary of State to perform the 
 functions and exercise the powers and authority vested in the President by the 
 act. It also established the International Development Advisory Board of 
 prominent private citizens to advise and consult on Point Four policy. The 
 President named Nelson A. Rockefeller, businessman and philanthropist, as 
 chairman of the Advisory Board, and asked the Board to review those portions 
 of Gordon Gray's Report on Foreign Economic Policies that relate to the 
 underdeveloped areas. Other members of the Advisory Board, which held its 
 first meeting on November 29 and 30, 1950, are: 
 
 Robert P. Daniel, president, Virginia State College, educator. 
 
 Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. , chairman of the Firestone Tire and Rubber 
 Company-. 
 
 James W. Gerard, former Ambassador to Germany. 
 
 John A. Hannah, president, Michigan State College, former president. 
 Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities. 
 
 Margaret A. Hickey, educator, lawyer and business woman, former 
 president. National Federation of Business and Professional Women. 
 
 Lewis G. Hines, special representative, American Federation of Labor. 
 
 Thomas Parran, dean. Graduate School of Public Health, University of 
 Pittsburgh, and former Surgeon General of the United States. 
 
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Clarence Poe, editor of the Progressive Farmer and veteran agricul- 
 turalist. 
 
 Jacob F. Potofsky, president, Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. 
 
 John L.. Savage, chief designing engineer of Grand Coulee and Hoover 
 Dams, consulting engineer on power and irrigation projects in Europe and 
 Asia. 
 
 Charles L.. Wheeler, executive vice president of Pope and Talbot, iden- 
 tified with shipping and lumber interests. 
 
 The Executive order also directed the Secretary of State to establish an 
 Interdepartmental Advisory Council on Technical Cooperation to assure the 
 cooperation and assistance of all participating departments and agencies. 
 
 This Council has been established and is functioning. 
 
 On November 14 the President named Dr. Henry Garland Bennett as Ad- 
 ministrator of the Point Four Program. Dr. Bennett since 1928 has been 
 president of the Oklahoma State College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts. 
 On December 1, Dr. Bennett assumed his responsibilities as head of the 
 Technical Cooperation Administration in the Department of State. 
 
 Although responsibility remains with the Administrator, other units with- 
 in the Department of State are directly interested in the Point Four Program 
 and assist and advise on it. For example, the regional bureaus gather infor- 
 mation from the field staffs of the Foreign Service and help to insure uniform 
 United States policy; the Bureau of United Nations Affairs has responsibility 
 for liaison with the United Nations and the specialized agencies; and the Office 
 of Educational Exchange provides services in connection with trainee programs 
 on behalf of the Administrator. 
 
 Under direction of the Administrator, operations in the field are conducted 
 by the departments and agencies of the United States Government especially 
 concerned with the substance of Point Four projects. Through the Interde- 
 partmental Advisory Council on Technical Cooperation close liaison is main- 
 tained with these agencies on project planning. When a project is agreed upon 
 by the appropriate agency and approved by the Administrator, the necessary 
 funds are allocated by the Technical Cooperation Administration to the agency 
 to do the job. 
 
 The U. S. Ambassador or Minister to each recipient country is responsible 
 for negotiating Point Four agreements and seeing that they are carried out. 
 Under his direction, a technical cooperation officer has the task of super- 
 vising projects and U. S. personnel and developing good working relations with 
 the local government. Technical direction of the projects comes from the 
 responsible agencies at home. 
 
 How Projects Are Planned and Carried Out 
 
 In addition to the criteria set by Congress, there are two fundamental 
 
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considerations which govern the selection of a particular project under the 
 Point Four Program: 
 
 1. It must represent the free choice of the country concerned and be in 
 its interest according to its own determination. 
 
 2. It must further the basic objective of the program to improve the 
 living standards of the peoples of economically underdeveloped areas by en- 
 abling them to realize more fully the potentialities of their human and ma- 
 terial resources. 
 
 Before a request for assistance is granted, it must be determined that 
 the requesting country can use that type of assistance effectively and ef- 
 ficiently in terms of its current human, natural, and capital resources. 
 
 The planning of Point Four projects involves these steps: 
 
 1. After receipt of a request for assistance, officers in the United States 
 embassies abroad work with officials of the requesting government in pre- 
 paring plans for technical cooperation. 
 
 2. The project proposal is forwarded to the Administrator with the 
 evaluation of the embassy. 
 
 3. The proposal and evaluation are reviewed and carefully screened by 
 the Administrator, the appropriate regional bureau of the State Department, 
 and the substantive agencies of the government concerned. The basic criteria 
 for assistance, the requirements of the over-all program, the detailed in- 
 formation available in country and area studies, and the technical feasibility 
 are considered in this screening. 
 
 4. The requirements of the bilateral program developed by these proc- 
 esses are balanced and coordinated with the programs of the United Nations 
 and other international organizations. 
 
 5. The substantive agencies responsible for operation of the project then 
 develop specific operational plans in accordance with the policies and stand- 
 ards established by the Administrator and the funds allocated by him. 
 
 Written agreements on the nature and content of the assistance program 
 are signed by the United States and each recipient covmtry. These agreements 
 are of two types: 
 
 1. General Agreements. One general agreement may be negotiated with 
 each recipient country. It covers the basic mutual understanding underlying 
 the Point Four Program and each of its projects. It includes joint definition 
 of the purposes and methods of Point Four; commitment to pay a fair share of 
 the costs and to facilitate the operations in every way possible; reciprocal 
 undertaking to extend technical knowledge; comrnitment to supply information 
 to the United States relative to development and results; reciprocal under- 
 taking to keep the public informed; agreement on treatment and taxation of 
 personnel; and undertaking to make effective use of the program. 
 
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The first standard general agreement to be concluded under the Program, 
 was signed on November 7 with the Government of Ceylon. 
 
 2. Project Agreements. Specific project agreements are concluded with 
 the recipient country for each project undertaken. This agreement is the 
 contract under which the particular task is performed by the operating agency 
 with the specified cooperation of the receiving government. It includes an 
 exact description of the project; provisions for information desired by the 
 United States; contribution of both parties to the cost of the project; and pro- 
 visions relating to policies and administrative procedures. 
 
 United States Government agencies bearing most extensive responsibil- 
 
 ities under the new program include: 
 Department of Agriculture 
 
 Office of Education, Federal 
 Security Agency 
 
 Public Health Service 
 
 Social Security Administration 
 and Office of Vocational 
 Rehabilitation 
 
 Department of the Interior 
 
 Department of Commerce 
 
 Civil Aeronautics Administration 
 
 Soil conservation, plant entomology 
 and development, extension service, 
 forestry, statistics, etc. 
 
 Exchange of students and teachers, 
 fxindamental and vocational education. 
 
 Development of public-health serv- 
 ices, research and control measures, 
 training, improvement of vital 
 statistics and public-health statistics, 
 consultation. 
 
 Social-welfare services, social in- 
 surance (old age, unemployment), 
 employment service, maternal and 
 child welfare, vocational rehabili- 
 tation. 
 
 Geological surveying for mineral and 
 water resources, mining and metal- 
 lurgy, multiple -purpose water devel- 
 opment including reclamation and 
 irrigation, fish development, public- 
 land management, etc. 
 
 Census and statistical procedures, 
 national income and balance of pay- 
 ments research, information on 
 foreign economic development op- 
 portunities for American business, 
 foreign investment research, coast 
 and geodetic surveying, weather, 
 standardization and laboratory testing, 
 tidal and magnetic observations. 
 
 Aviation. 
 
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Public Roads Administration 
 U. S. Army Corps of Engineers 
 
 Interstate Commerce Commission 
 Department of Labor 
 
 Housing and Home Finance 
 Agency 
 
 Federal Communications 
 Commission 
 
 Treasury Department 
 
 Highways. 
 
 Multiple-purpose water development, 
 port and harbor development. 
 
 Railroads. 
 
 Industrial training, apprenticeship 
 and employment service; industrial 
 safety and health; employment stand- 
 ards, labor legislation, and labor 
 inspection; employment of women and 
 children; employment in agriculture; 
 productivity and other labor statis- 
 tics; and labor, business, and govern- 
 ment interrelations. 
 
 Shelter and urban development. 
 
 T e lecommunications . 
 
 Taxation, fiscal policy, customs 
 administration. 
 
 The responsible agencies operate in some or all of the following ways: 
 helping to make basic studies and surveys of economic problems, needs, and 
 potential lines of development; furnishing expert advisers or missions to ad- 
 vise governments, private organizations, or business enterprises in develop- 
 ment projects; joint financing and administration of foreign government 
 operations in fields essential to economic development; helping to establish 
 and operate research and experimental centers and laboratories; developing 
 demonstration projects; providing on-the-job training; furnishing and in- 
 structing in the use of sample materials and equipment; consulting and ad- 
 vising with foreign visitors; translating and publishing specialized reports; 
 assisting technical schools and universities; exchanging students and teachers 
 in technical fields; bringing workers, supervisors, engineers, and executives 
 to the more advanced countries to observe or train; organizing international 
 conferences on economic problems and providing technical data, publications, 
 and samples of materials for research and experimental purposes; and es- 
 tablishing and operating technical libraries and film services. 
 
 One technique of operation which has proved especially productive in the 
 work of the Institute of Inter -American Affairs, and which is being continued 
 under Point Four, is the Servicio. The Servicio is a cooperative service, 
 jointly staffed and financed by the aiding and recipient countries. It is organ- 
 ized as an integral part of the appropriate agency or ministry of the host 
 government, but its senior men are usually members of the field party from 
 the United States. Good opportunities for close understanding, cooperation, 
 and integration are provided by this unique device in international adminis- 
 tration. 
 
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Another technique, that of the "demonstration center, " is being used in 
 Iran. These centers are being established in selected rural villages, serving 
 both to improve local living standards and to train Iranian teachers and 
 demonstration agents. 
 
 A joint Iranian- American Commission for Rural Improvement, composed 
 of four representatives from Iran and three from the United States, admin- 
 isters the demonstration projects. An Iranian heads this group. 
 
 An integrated health, agricultural, and education project, each center 
 will demonstrate and practice simple techniques for increasing food produc- 
 tion, reducing disease, raising the education level, and otherwise improving 
 the living conditions of people throughout the area. For example, the use of 
 DDT and other modern scientific controls over disease will be demonstrated; 
 workshops will be set up to teach the making of simple tools, such as steel 
 hoes and metal-tipped plows; and instruction in rural teaching methods will 
 be given. 
 
 The first demonstration center is being established immediately outside 
 Isfahan, about three hundred miles south of Tehran, and it is likely that three 
 other centers will be in operation by June 30, 1951. Approximately ten 
 centers should be in action by June 30, 1952. 
 
 Still another technique which will be used in the Point Four Program is the 
 "Joint Economic Development Commission. " Such a commission surveys the 
 economic resources of a whole country and recommends a balanced program 
 of development. The commission is a continuing body, which follows up its 
 recommendations, evaluates what is being done, and adapts economic planning 
 to existing conditions. 
 
 Personnel to do the Point Four job is selected by the responsible agency 
 of the U.S. Government on the basis of professional competency and ability to 
 work with people in the foreign country. In addition, clearance by the F.B.I. 
 is required. At their posts, these people are responsible to the technical 
 cooperation officer and ultimately to the United States Ambassador or Min- 
 ister for conduct and field administration. Technical instructions and guid- 
 ance, however, come from the operating agency in Washington. 
 
 Regular evaluation and reporting on progress and results are provided by 
 the technical cooperation officer in the embassy or legation and by the oper- 
 ating agency in Washington, who measure the projects within each country 
 from the standpoint of their effective contribution to economic development. 
 
 Point Four and the U. N. Technical Assistance Program 
 
 In his Inaugural Address of January 20, 1949, President Truman said, 
 "This should be a cooperative enterprise in which all nations work together 
 through the United Nations and its specialized agencies wherever practicable. " 
 
 At the United Nations Conference on Technical Assistance, held at L,ake 
 Success in June 1950, fifty participating countries, including the United 
 States, pledged a total of $20,012,500 for technical assistance activities. 
 
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Since June three additional nations have pledged funds to this account. It is 
 being used to expand the programs of the United Nations itself and of the 
 World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization, the Food 
 and Agriculture Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, 
 and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 
 
 The United States coordinates its bilateral programs with the internation- 
 al assistance program. As Willard L. Thorp, Assistant Secretary of State for 
 Economic Affairs, said at the United Nations Technical Assistance Confer- 
 ence in June 1950; 
 
 "Many countries have or will have bilateral programs of technical as- 
 sistance. To assure the most efficient use of funds and manpower and to 
 avoid duplication of effort, it is essential that these countries take full ac- 
 count both of the several bilateral and multilateral programs as they develop. 
 We have every intention of working for the fullest possible coordination of 
 these programs." 
 
 Coordination within the United Nations is being developed through the 
 Technical Assistance Board (TAB), composed of the heads of the specialized 
 agencies. The Board is informed of all requests for assistance received and 
 all operations carried on both bilaterally and multilaterally by the special- 
 ized agencies and member governments and assists in an international inte- 
 gration of aid programs. Policy direction is given by the Technical Assistance 
 Committee whose members are the governments represented on the Eco- 
 nomic and Social Council. 
 
 Whether a particular project is undertaken by the United Nations or the 
 United States depends upon a number of factors, including the desire of the 
 requesting country, the type of project, and the availability of funds. 
 
 The United Nations is most readily used where a proposed project is of 
 direct interest to or involves several countries, as in the control of epidemic 
 diseases or pests; where a project requires the mobilization of the tech- 
 nological resources of a number of countries, as when the need is great and 
 the number of trained technicians limited; where international uniformity or 
 standardization is an end in itself, as in the case of air navigation standards; 
 or where the international character of the sources of the assistance may be 
 particularly helpful in achieving its purpose; 
 
 On the other hand, the United States undertakes projects which are im- 
 practicable for the United Nations, or other international organizations, to 
 undertake. The United States also is continuing existing projects which would 
 be adversely affected if transferred. 
 
 As the United Nations and the specialized agencies are able to expand their 
 activities on a sound basis, they will carry an ever increasing share of the 
 responsibility for technical aid and development programs. At present, how- 
 ever, the total need is so great, the particular projects so diversified, that 
 separate bilateral programs like Point Four can make a great contribution to 
 the over-all effort. 
 
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For further information on the Point Four Program see: 
 
 Point F our : Cooperative Program for Aid in the Development of Eco- 
 nomically Underdeveloped Areas (Department of State publication 3719t 
 January 1950). 
 
 The "Point Four" Program. Foreign Affairs Outline No. 21 (Department 
 of State publication 3498, Spring 1949). 
 
 The "Point Four" Program. Progress Report Number Four (Office of 
 Public Affairs, Department of State, May 1950). 
 
 Report on U. N. Technical Assistance Conference, Department of State, 
 July 12, 1950. 
 
 Public Law 535, 81st Congress, the Foreign Economic Assistance Act of 
 1950. 
 
 "Our Foreign Policy". Department of State publication 3972, September, 
 1950. 
 
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