Chapter 38 American Secession-2

On Wednesday, Sept. 8, 18 days after Jackson was killed across the country, a guard at the Attica prison was punched by an inmate while he was breaking up a fight on the inmates' playground.That night, the two prisoners who fought were locked in a "box".Other inmates said he was insulted as the two were dragged away.A Puerto Rican prisoner threw a glass at a guard, cutting the guard's face.Riots broke out the next morning.Exactly what caused the riots is unclear.One theory is that a group of workers refused to listen to the guard's instructions with sticks and refused to line up.Another version puts the blame on the guards, who arbitrarily canceled the prisoner's gymnastics time in revenge for what happened the previous day.The third theory is that "Brother Richard" took five prisoners to breakfast on a rampage and released Braden, who was working in the metalworking workshop.

However it came about, the consequences were astonishing.There were less than a hundred guards on duty, outnumbered, and many were arrested.Prison schools, houses of worship, and machine factories were set on fire.As the houses were reduced to ashes, raiding parties of prisoners rushed out of the corridors, gates and narrow passages of B, C and D, the four rectangular cell blocks.According to the Wyoming County Deputy Marshal, the inmates were armed with pipes they had hidden under bread trays in the cafeteria.This statement is not necessarily credible.By the time the riots were over, the Attica prison authorities had already lost their prestige.However, even though the inmates started without weapons, they quickly armed themselves.Some of them used grinding wheels looted from workshops, and some prisoners immediately fashioned throwing guns out of scissors blades and broom handles.Others made sticks and knives, which they used to puncture fire hoses while prison guards were fighting fires.Guards used tear gas to regain control of areas C and B, but the prisoners held on to the rest, locking all the doors and even welding some of them shut with factory equipment.

Four hours after the riot broke out, the fronts stabilized and remained largely unchanged for the next four days. Area D was the farthest from the management building and the closest to the workshop, and it was the main stronghold from which Braden and Clark directed the riot.A total of 1,280 of them, wearing rugby hats or turbans, were scattered among the many improvised tents in the courtyard of Block D.A rough workbench at one end of the courtyard was the center of the riot.The riot secretariat, the People's Central Committee, has been meeting here to determine various work arrangements, decide on defensive measures, and even put prisoners who disobeyed orders into "people's prisons."The inmates and the New York State authorities contacted and negotiated meetings at the bench or in the no-man's-land called the Demilitarized Zone in the corridors of Area A.Of particular interest is the prison's geographic center, Times Square, where the various passages leading to the four cell blocks converge.Rioters take control of the site.They were taken from a twenty-eight-year-old guard named William Quinn, who fought the rioters with a baton until his skull was shattered in two places.Some of the guards later swore they saw Quinn being savagely thrown down a high passage.No doubt he was badly wounded.Clark saw the unconscious guard bleeding from his ears and ordered him to pass through the DMZ to the authorities.The situation of Quinn was of great concern to both parties. If he died, every prisoner who participated in the riot could be tried for murder.

Around noon, Capt. Henry Williams of the State Police assembled 250 officers in riot gear and told them, "If someone is killed on the other side, that's what you have to do; don't listen to any of your crap. Don't throw it away. arms, and don't lose your buddies." The words were strong, but they were overweighted by the fact that a rash move would have cost them 39 buddies—the guards had been captured by the rioters. as a hostage.These captured guards were put on prison clothes, blindfolded, and tied up in Area D.An inmate warned through a microphone that if the police attacked, the hostages would be the first to suffer.No one in charge, not even Warden Mancusi, was very willing to say that was a scare.

The person legally responsible for handling the situation, Commissioner Oswald, arrived by air at 2pm.Against Mancusi's advice, he decided to enter Block D to negotiate with the insurgents, along with Herman Schwartz, a University of Buffalo law professor trusted by the insurgent leaders.He intended to tell the rioters that he could not discuss their demands with the hostages until they were released, a rule that the judicial authorities could not break.He did ask for the release of the hostages, but also listened to Brydon dictate 15 demands.The rioters' demands included political rallies "without threat"; "religious freedom" for Muslims; an end to mail censorship; the right to correspond with anyone; formal complaint procedures; Time in cells; more sports facilities; full-time doctors; better schools; more fruit, less pork; replacement of Warden Warden Mancusi; creation of a committee of outsiders to "monitor" the Acts of the prison authorities during the rebellion; an injunction issued by the Federal Court prohibiting "physical and moral reprisals" for the actions of prisoners during the rebellion.Finally, Brydon added that at least some prisoners insisted on their "quick and safe transfer from prison to a non-imperialist country.""We are human beings, not animals, and we are not going to be whipped or driven. What's happening here is nothing but the harbinger of the wrath of oppressed people," he said.

Oswald's courage to enter the D area is really not small.When he was sitting with the secretariat of the riot leaders, some riot leaders suggested that he should also be kept as a hostage.Although the New York State Police sniper standing on the wall aimed at the prisoners around Oswald one by one, if he really took action, the chance of him escaping was very small.Whether his trip was wise or not is another matter.Having heard their arguments, and acknowledging the validity of many of them, the pressure to negotiate was almost irresistible.He gave in to the pressure.To show his sincerity, he agreed to appoint a board of oversight and sent Schwartz to federal Judge John Curtin, who was in the Vermont Judicial Conference, to ask him to issue the injunction.Oswald also did something that greatly annoyed Mancousi and his staff when he signed a pledge "no administrative reprisals against prisoners involved in the September 9, 1971 operation."The rioters interpreted this as a guarantee of leniency.The governor's office was quick to point out that exoneration was simply not possible and the commissioner had no such power.But the seeds of misunderstanding have been planted and will surely bear fruit of hatred.

That night, Oswald returned to the prison compound, brightly lit by searchlights and even brighter by the campfires of the prisoners.He brought with him a group of journalists—also a concession to the demands of the rioters.Most of the time is spent on the selection of the supervisory committee.The prisoners suggested William Kunstler, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, State Senator John Dunne, New York Times reporter Tom Wick, who wrote sympathetic stories about George Jackson. , Herman Badillo, the first Puerto Rican elected to Congress, and Clarence Jones, a black man who published Manhattan's Amsterdam News.Later, Rockefeller added others of his own choosing: his secretary, a school superintendent, a retired general, and several legislators and penologists.At one time, there were 30 supervisory committee members.There are too many people to carry out the task; the inconsistency of thought weakens the committee.

Schwartz brought back the injunction signed by Judge Curtin, which had been drafted by Jerome Rosenberg of Brooklyn, a white inmate who killed a police officer.But the rioters at this time considered it insufficient and refused to accept it.The supervision work was very noisy from the very beginning and did not go well.Wick, Jones, and Julian Tepper of the National Association of Legal Assistance and Advocates went to breakfast with Wyoming County District Attorney Lewis James, from whom they could only get a Indiscriminate class indictments," written assurances that seemed unlikely to assuage the fears of the anxious prisoner's office.Another flimsy agreement was also torn up at 4 a.m. Saturday, near the end of the riot's second 24 hours, when the press corps was blocked outside the prison gate.Police are increasingly hostile to journalists, an ominous sign that often foreshadows police actions that will be hidden from outsiders.

Still, Oswald was optimistic that morning.The prisoner's demands have increased to 30, but he has agreed to 28. The remaining two are the issue of a complete pardon, which he said is "non-negotiable", and the removal of Mancusi.Just as he expressed confidence that the problems could be resolved, new developments have greatly diminished the hopes of a peaceful solution to the riot.Quinn was dead, thus ruling out any possibility of clemency for the riot leaders.Then came Bobby Seale.Before entering the prison, he told the 50 radical demonstrators who stood outside the walls and cheered him: "If anything happens to those guards, the state of New York and its governor should be charged with murder." A statement from the Central Committee of the Black Panther Party stated: "The prison guards, who were called 'hostages', were actually arrested by 1280 inmates who were routinely subjected to torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, There is every reason to plead for yourself in this way ... in order to begin negotiating the demands of the prisoners ... a guaranteed pardon is a necessary first step. According to the analysis of the Black Panther Party, this is the only way for detained guards to be able to get bail."

Seale is clearly not interested in resolving the crisis.He told the prisoners in the prison that they must make up their own minds in dealing with Oswald.The prisoners passionately expressed their confidence in him and asked for his advice.Seale replied that he could not make any comments without the consent of Huey Newton.He attended the Board of Supervisors meeting for a while, then left, telling reporters he was offended by their problems and armed state troopers.In an extremely irresponsible move, Kunstler told the riot secretariat: "Representatives of third world countries are waiting for you across the street." He may have been referring to the 50 demonstrators, but He did not explain, so that the prisoners, thinking that they could hope for a complete victory, did not want to bargain with Oswald.

Both sides mobilized on Sunday.All afternoon, truckloads of National Guard troops, massive fire hoses, boxes of gas canisters and gas masks.The Supervisory Board issued a statement warning that they were "now convinced that a massacre of prisoners and guards could take place in this prison".Wake, Jones, Badillo, Dunn and others called Rockefeller for more than half an hour, asking him to come to Attica Prison, but Governor Rockefeller issued a statement saying: "Given the key issue is comprehensive A pardon... I feel that my presence there will not contribute to a peaceful settlement." He and Oswald had agreed that if the prison leaders ignored the ultimatum, they would have to use force.They are not optimistic.Evidently the prisoner's mood was getting worse and worse.The iron gate is being heated by electric current, the gutter is filled with gasoline, and the booby trap made of peat and grease is set on a timed fuze.Crude rocket launchers were installed, too, and spears were honed to a sharper point.From the main passage leading to "Times Square" from Area A, the only way to attack the police is to place barricades made of iron cases.That afternoon, the rioters stabbed to death two white prisoners in revenge. On Monday morning, the situation was irreversible. At 7 o'clock, teams of police were assigned specific tasks: either sniping, or ambulance, or blowing up roadblocks, or serving as a reserve force.Two helicopters hovered above, reporting to the ground the deployment of the prisoners' forces and the situation of the hostages. At 8:35, Oswald and Richard Clarke met in the demilitarized zone. "Brother Richard" insisted that a "safe, complete, uncompromising pardon" must be guaranteed and that "that fellow Mancusi" be removed from office.He said he needed half an hour to consult with other members of the Secretariat.Oswald agrees to give him time. At 9:05, a prisoner shouted through a microphone that if the riot position was attacked, the prisoner "firing squad" would kill all the hostages.One of Oswald's aides replied, "Release the prisoner now, and then the Commissioner will talk to you." The prisoner shouted, "No." That was effectively the last word in the meeting.All that's left is to be brutal. A few minutes later, a helicopter radioed: "There is a hostage at each of the four corners of 'Times Square', each with a knife pointed at their throat." Pulling back, let the neck bend out, the sharp knife held tightly in the hand is slowly piercing into the flesh.In fact, appearances are more terrifying than truth.Unbeknownst to officials, what they were witnessing was a classic example of belligerent exaggeration.The hostages did not die at the hands of the rioters.Like the request to settle in a "non-imperialist country" (a request that was withdrawn at the first frown of Oswald's brow), this hideous gesture with a clay dagger was nothing more than an exaggeration, The purpose is to sensationalize, and perhaps to embolden the prisoner himself.There are always people who are willing to die for acts of bravado, and some of them are about to fall here and now, and plan to take a few involuntary victims with them. Oswald was now certain that the hostages were in such a precarious position that they would probably inevitably be slaughtered.The matter is very urgent and cannot be delayed.So he said to his assistants: "There is no doubt now, we must break in." At this time, more than 500 local policemen and state policemen in yellow uniforms were lurking by the doors of each passageway, and a CH-34 The small helicopter "Gambler Two" landed suddenly in "Times Square" and released a blast of tear gas, pepper gas and mustard gas.The radio operator yelled: "Go in! Go in! The airborne has been successful! The command post informs all posts-go in. Attack!" The police blasted down the iron gates and destroyed the barricades, and the snipers standing on the gray walls began to aim and shoot at the prisoners.It took 90 minutes to clear the aisle, and then the main force moved forward. "Times Square" and Area D were filled with gas and smog, making it difficult to see the situation clearly. The hostages were all wearing prison clothes, making it even more difficult to identify.The intense resistance lasted about two and a half minutes, police later insisted.One policeman said: "They brandished knives and spears and attacked us like a Japanese death squad. We had to shoot at these people." Another policeman said: "Those who resisted threw spears at us. and Molotov cocktails, all taken out. We hit some people who were waving their arms about to throw their weapons. Anyone who resisted was killed." Some, however, did not resist and were also killed.The sporadic shooting went on for nearly an hour.The New York State Special Commission on Attica (the McKay Commission) later found that the police offense "was disproportionately flawed," including "a large number of unnecessary shootings."Some unnecessary brutality is motivated by recklessness, possibly even a disregard for human life.Prison guards were prohibited by Rockefeller edict from participating in the attack, but they participated anyway and were responsible for at least two homicides.The investigation by the special committee found that some policemen used shotguns and "" lead bullets to strafe, and the scattering range exceeded 30 yards, hitting some "unintentional targets", thus "causing serious casualties to non-resisting prisoners and hostages." threaten".A doctor who was present at the time, Dr. Lionel Sifontes of Buffalo, reported afterwards: "Many riot leaders were deliberately singled out by the guards and shot dead, and some had already raised their hands to express their surrender. Yes, some are lying on the ground." More than 120 people were injured or dying.Counting Quinn and other prisoners killed by criminals during the riot, the death toll in the Attica prison incident was: 32 prisoners, 11 guards or administrators, for a total of 43 people.Exactly how the hostages died was highly inaccurately reported, adding to the confusion over what actually happened in the hours after the prison was recaptured.One of Oswald's aides said one of the guards was castrated and his genitals were stuffed in his mouth.Another aide told reporters: "Several hostages had their throats cut. From the fact that bloody blindfolds fell on their necks, the argument that the captured guards were killed by their guards is Believable. In fact, the three surviving guards did have wounds on their throats. However, the next morning, the medical examiner issued a report saying that he found no cases of castration and amputation of the dead. All the dead were shot dead, and only the police had guns." Governor Rockefeller said the hostages "were killed in the crossfire."Oswald himself hinted, in disbelief, that they were "probably pushed forward and used as shields".The rescued hostages strongly supported the police attack.In Washington, President Nixon said the "sad and painful" decision to attack the Attica prison was the only "practicable" course of action for the administration.Disputes about events quickly turned into ideological debates.Those who do not believe in liberals, penal reform, "compassion" and "doing good" oppose all criticism of the police.They blamed criminals—humans—the Atlanta Journal-Constitution condemned "the beasts of Attica" in a vehement editorial for attempting to "force an illegal trial" on hostages; and quite a few blamed the supervisors.As Wick left Attica, exhausted, a guard at the gate booed him and said, "You guys will never be allowed into this place again under any circumstances." The reaction on the other hand was equally violent.Newark Mayor Kenneth Gibson said the prison smash was "considered to be one of the most brutal and blatant acts of repression ever undertaken by civilized society".Wick later pointed out that although 60 prisoners were charged with a total of 1,300 crimes, not a single bailiff was charged, although "there is evidence that officials are negligent, brutal, indisciplined, and arbitrary. — even outright murder".After the riot was suppressed, the Mackay Commission found that "beating, stabbing, and kicking were common."Prisoners were stripped naked and forced to walk between two rows of guards who beat them with sticks.The injured guards were treated quickly and their families were notified immediately.Injured prisoners did not receive medical treatment for four hours, and had small tags with the words "Prisoner 1, Prisoner 2, and Prisoner 3" tied to their bodies.Four days later, the family members of some prisoners were still frantically inquiring about the fate of their husbands and sons.Often the Attica prison didn't even tell them this.The person who got the news only received a rough and brief telegram: "I regret to inform you that your husband Raymond Rivera, number 29533, has died and his body is parked in this prison." John Dospassos, writing about the divide between the rich and the hungry in America during the Great Depression, said angrily: "That's right, we are two countries!" Now the rift has gone in a different direction, But just as profound.The new occupant of the White House vowed to "bring us together" three years ago.He failed to do that.The people are divided as always, and they cannot agree on the most fundamental issues of justice and forgiveness, war and peace, right and wrong.With a year to go before a new presidential election, Americans are starting to reassess Richard Nixon's standing in the polls.Changes can be seen here.As late as early August, pollster Albert Schindlinger found that only 27 percent of voters wanted to see Nixon reelected.But before August, Nixon's popular popularity curve stopped falling, but gradually stabilized, and then slowly rose again.The decisive factor was decisive action by the government at home and abroad. The 31st World Table Tennis Championships was held in Nagoya, Japan in April of the same year.The composition of the US table tennis team is indicative of the sport's broad appeal.A Chrysler HR executive, a DuPont chemist, a Sports Illustrated editor, a college professor, a black Federal worker, an IBM programmer, an Immigrants from the Dominican Republic, a Wall Street bank employee, two teenage girls, two housewives and two college students.Glenn Cohen of Santa Monica University is the most prominent player on the American team.He wears purple-print flared pants and a shirt emblazoned with a peace symbol, and wears his shoulder-length hair in a headband as he plays.Perhaps because of the red color of Cohen's headband, or because of his quick-witted, extroverted personality, athletes from the People's Republic of China chose him to make a historic proposal: He and his teammates would like to take a free trip to Red China · The teammates were very happy——Cohen said after discussing with the teammates: "In the words of Chairman Mao, I seem to have ignited a spark that started a prairie fire."——Song Zhong, secretary-general of the Chinese table tennis delegation, sent an official invitation soon .Washington didn't object.Only a few weeks ago, the State Department lifted all restrictions on Americans traveling to People's China.Everyone involved, including the table tennis players, knew that the relationship between these two events was not a coincidence.It was generally seen as the first steps toward a détente, reflecting Beijing's new self-confidence, after the three-year bitter power struggle known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution ended two years ago with the final victory of Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai.When seven Western journalists were allowed into China to cover the team's trip, the world had clearly reached a historic turning point.Apparently the Chinese are using sports for diplomatic purposes, as the Russians have done in the past.Overnight, table tennis gained new status.Even Nixon told his subordinates: "When I was in law school, I was a pretty good table tennis player. I can say that I played pretty well." On April 10, the American table tennis team crossed a short steel-framed bridge from Hong Kong to Luohu Station on the border, and then crossed a lead-iron-roofed bridge to the Chinese town of Shenzhen.Smiling Chinese officials led them onto a milky white and blue train.Their first destination is Guangzhou. The place's English name has been changed from Canton to Kwangchow after Washington and Beijing severed ties 21 years ago.During the 23 miles, you can see banana groves, lychee trees and rice fields, and in important places, there are huge publicity signs with the portrait of Chairman Mao.At the new Guangzhou Airport, they boarded a Soviet-made Ilyushin-18 passenger plane, and military music and quotations from Chairman Mao were played on the loudspeaker.Provocative slogans were hung in front of the tarmac: calling on "people all over the world to unite and defeat the US aggressors and their lackeys".This is not intentional insult to the visitor.At the time, Mao's government drew a clear distinction between the American people and their government.It needs the friendship of the American people, but to the American government Radio Beijing is constantly scolding the cabal as "bloodthirsty bandits". The weather in Beijing in April still has the chill of winter, but other than that, the reception of the American table tennis team in the capital is extremely friendly.They stayed at the luxurious Xinqiao Hotel, where they were entertained by numerous banquets, toured the Summer Palace of the 19th-century Manchurian emperors, and visited the Great Hall of the People.They watched the revolutionary ballet "The Red Detachment of Women" and the Beijing opera "Taking Tiger Mountain by Outsmarting" which showed the victory of communism over capitalism.When they went to the Beijing Stadium for an exhibition match against the Chinese team, they were greeted jubilantly by 18,000 fans, and a huge banner read "Welcome the American Table Tennis Team".The band played a passionate song "Sailing the sea depends on the helmsman, making revolution depends on Mao Zedong Thought".Cohen did a rock dance. In table tennis, the Chinese still use the original strategy.They did not allow the first-class team that could completely defeat the US team to play, and only sent second-rate athletes to participate in the competition. The men's team and the women's team won 5:3 and 5:4 respectively.The hosts called the game a "friendly match."It wasn't the most touching gesture of friendliness, though.The next day, Zhou Enlai met the Chinese table tennis guests in the red-carpeted living room of the Great Hall of the People.The U.S. team was not the only table tennis team that visited that week. According to Chinese etiquette, meetings were held in strict alphabetical order, so Zhou Enlai met with athletes from Canada, Colombia, England, and Nigeria before meeting with the U.S. players.But Zhou Enlai spent most of his time—1 hour and 45 minutes—meeting with American athletes, telling them: "We have turned a new page in the relationship between the Chinese and American people." He told American reporters that now American journalists can "Come in batches". On the day the American team left Beijing for Hong Kong, President Nixon announced the relaxation of the 20-year-old US trade embargo on China, and Beijing resumed telephone contact with Washington and London.There were plenty of facts to talk about; and less than two weeks later, a presidential commission headed by Henry Cabot Lodge recommended that the People's Republic be admitted to the United Nations if a way could be found to retain the Nationalist seat.National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger's secret visit to Beijing has been planned. During the visit, the main issue of the talks will be the president's own state visit. In early July, Kissinger flew to Asia, and the official announcement was to hold talks in Saigon, Thailand, India, Pakistan and other places.After a 90-minute meeting with Pakistani President Yahya Khan, Kissinger announced a change of schedule, saying he would spend a few working days at Nadia Gali, a mountain retreat 38 miles north of Rawalpindi.Kissinger's trip had no special report value. Therefore, when the Yahya government announced that Kissinger would stay at the recuperation site for an extra day because he felt a little unwell, the reporters who interviewed the matter did not have much curiosity.Kissinger was thought to have Asian dysentery — “Delhi stomach ache” — and the U.S. embassy, ​​to encourage the notion, gave air that a doctor had been sent to treat him.A reporter suggested that the presidential adviser would be more comfortable staying in an air-conditioned hotel in Rawalpindi.An embassy spokesman replied that Kissinger did not want to bother anyone in the capital with his illness. In fact, Kissinger and three aides drove to Rawalpindi Airport, boarded a Pakistan International Airlines plane, and flew to Beijing. At noon on July 9, they landed at a deserted airfield on the outskirts of the Chinese capital.They were taken by car to a hotel near the lake, where they had lunch, and at three or four o'clock in the afternoon, Zhou Enlai came to meet.On Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday morning, he held talks with Kissinger.After gaining five pounds thanks to Chinese hospitality, the presidential adviser flew back to Pakistan while he was still believed to be bedridden with a stomach ailment, and rejoined the rest of the delegation two and a half days later .It is no longer possible to hear the Beijing radio station cursing American officials as robbers and lackeys.Five days after Kissinger's trip to China, President Nixon flew by helicopter from San Clemente to Burbank Television outside Los Angeles to deliver a four-minute speech that shocked the world.He announced that he had been invited to visit Red China, which he accepted with pleasure.He said: "I took this action because I deeply believe that reducing tension and improving relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China is in the interest of all countries." relationship” and will not “sacrifice our old friends”. This is a promise he cannot keep.His plan to have "two Chinas" join the United Nations at the same time is doomed to failure.Every year the United Nations comes closer to expelling the Taiwan delegation, and that alone is enough to make it finally decisive. On October 25, the United Nations General Assembly voted to admit Beijing and expelled Chiang Kai-shek's representatives.The embarrassing scene that American conservatives saw on TV that day was simply inconceivable in the era when Acheson and Dulles were in charge of American foreign policy.Algerians and Albanians embraced each other and Tanzanians danced in the aisles.Washington reacted strongly and was furious.Barry Goldwater wants the US to withdraw from the UN and send the UN General Assembly to "Moscow or Beijing or something".Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania spoke contemptuously of "small countries with hipster pants" like Tanzania.Ronald Ziegler, the presidential press secretary, condemned "the shocking performances and undisguised carnival of some of the delegates after the vote."But these are little more than political rituals.The fact is that Chiang Kai-shek's status as a "big power" has been doomed since the Chinese made a conciliatory gesture to Glenn Cohen in Nagoya. Exactly a month after Nixon announced on television that he was going to visit Beijing, he announced on the air another major measure, this time to save the American economy.Really need to think of a way.The United States has begun its worst currency crisis since the Great Depression.At that time, American finance, which was already faltering, was made even more difficult by President Hoover's stubborn belief in the economic teachings of Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill.Nixon paid lip service to the doctrines of both men, but in practice he was by no means inflexible. Hugh Sadie of Time magazine commented: "Until the last minute, the president stuck to the rules. And when the circumstances overwhelmed him, or he changed his mind, he decided to act, and then what? Things needn't try to hold him back for long. He'd throw away his philosophies, his promises, his teachings, his friends, his advisors. He'd walk out of a life into a new world, without explanation, without looking back." It's difficult, but in August 1971, when the dollar was teetering on the brink of disaster, it was heartening. At the end of World War II, the United States became the richest country in the history of civilization. At that time, the United States held 35 billion of the more than 40 billion U.S. dollars in monetary gold in the world.The post-war financial structure, established at the Bretton Woods conference in New Hampshire a year before the end of the war, stipulated that gold and the dollar would serve as reserves for all major national currencies outside the Communist bloc.Since there is not enough gold to support the expected foreign trade flows, the strongest currency in the world - the US dollar - becomes the gold equivalent.Both can be used to pay debts between countries.The United States pledged to recover all existing dollars at the rate of 35 dollars to an ounce of gold, and other countries expressed the value of their currencies in dollars.At the time it worked.Trade flourished.Any country that can make its trade with the United States super-export more goods to the United States than it imports from the United States-the country's surplus dollars can be used as reserves, and new currency can be issued. Because the United States is rich and the rest of the world is poorer, a lot of dollars flow overseas to help needy countries.It doesn't matter because there are plenty of dollars.Then came the Korean War and the revival of European commerce.By 1961, at the end of the first year after the establishment of the common market, the gold reserves of the United States had dropped to 17 billion U.S. dollars; in 1962, it had dropped to 16 billion U.S. dollars;By the early 1970s, gold reserves had stagnated at $11 billion—nearly the bare minimum, since U.S. law required one dollar’s ​​worth of gold be kept at Fort Knox for every four dollars in circulation, and U.S. businesses required 400 Billions of dollars banknotes and silver dollars.At this time, the trade balance is increasingly unfavorable to the United States. In 1960, the United States imported $15 billion worth of goods and exported $20 billion, with a surplus of $5 billion.By 1970, the difference had dropped to $2 billion; by May 1971, it had completely disappeared.The US is running a trade deficit, and with the Pentagon still draining vast amounts of wealth in Vietnam, there is little hope of a quick turnaround.Commerce Secretary Maurice Steins has warned that the US is running a trade deficit for the first time since 1893. In May 1971, economists received worrying signals from Germany.The economic miracle has turned the Federal Republic into a country of massive exports.The Deutsche mark has appreciated twice in the past decade, changing its value against the dollar and enriching speculators who hoarded the mark.现在要求再次增值的压力又在增加。波恩作为在布雷顿森林会议上建立起来的国际货币基金组织的成员国，有义务维持美元和马克的关系，在马克增值时收买美元，出售马克。因为美国存在贸易逆差，投机者握有大量美元——即“欧洲美元”，这是一般对外国拥有的美元的称呼——可供投资。 1971年头四个月，欧洲的欧洲美元储存额惊人地跃升，从50亿上升到五六百亿，德国中央银行出现了美元泛滥。 德国中央银行不停地收购，收购，直到波恩看出了通货膨胀的初期迹象，于是在5月9日通知国际货币基金组织，不管有无布雷顿森林会议的规定，它不再继续收购美元了。作为代替办法，德国人提出，让他们的货币按照供求规律决定自己的价值。用经济学家的行话来说，他们要让马克“浮动”。马克从25美分“浮动”到27美分，就停在那儿不动，减轻了对德国中央银行的压力，附带改善了美国同联邦共和国的贸易平衡关系，因为这时在德国的美国货比较便宜了。然而喘息的时间是很短的。由于美联社记者拉里·斯顿茨听说的“欧洲美元的巨大水塘正在欧洲泛滥”——总数相当于美国流通的全部货币，投机者必然得转向别的地方。他们准备开始对法国法郎加热，但是一直注视着德国的苦恼的巴黎，迅速摆脱了国际货币基金组织，限制了美元交易。投机者接着向瑞士法郎打主意。伯尔尼也效法巴黎。要想脱手美元越来越困难了，布雷顿森林会议正趋向于不起作用。《巴伦》周刊预测，秋季会出现世界范围的恐慌。8月初，又出现权威性预测说：美国第二季度的贸易逆差会超过70亿美元。紧接着国会两院联合经济委员会发表报告说，美元比价过高，其他货币应当增值，如果做不到这一点，美国应当停止购买黄金。于是股票行情猛跌，道·琼斯工业指数从4月份的高峰下降了100点。这时欧洲美元几乎已没有市场。美国在欧洲旅游的人发现，一度坚挺的美元，成了没有人肯接受的货币。世界贸易停顿下来；商人们再也不知道他们手中的货币在下星期，甚至在明天能够买到些什么了。 美国人也不断得到国内经济方面的坏消息。尼克松断言，1971年是个好年头，1972年是个坏年头，他的预算是以预计国民生产总值为10650亿元作为基础的。国民生产总值结果达到10500亿元，而其增长的半数来自通货膨胀。生产下降，失业率达6%，接近衰退时期的水平。6月底，财政年度结束时，政府的赤字惊人，达到232亿元，比约翰逊政府1968年创纪录的亏空仅少20亿元，收入竟比尼克松的预计令人难以相信地少了245亿元。总统在讲话中使用了“充分就业平衡”一词，使得他的保守的支持者大为吃惊。这是凯恩斯的一种概念，主张只要支出总额不超过在人人都有工作的条件下的税收总额，预算就是“平衡”的。但是，即使用这个尺度衡量，政府也还有80亿元的赤字。前景也是阴暗的。新的劳工合同保证铁路工人42个月里增加工资42%，钢铁工人三年内增加工资30%。这必然会引起相应的通货膨胀。 国会曾经批准1970年的经济稳定法案，授权总统“发布他认为有利于稳定物价、租金、工资和薪金的命令”。尼克松过去反对过这个法案，但是现在不得不签署了，因为这法案不把国防所需要的资源包括在内，但他发誓决不使用这个法案。他的计划是排除任何控制。他甚至不相信自觉遵守的指导方针或说服办法，即利用总统威信说服劳资双方放弃提高工资或物价的要求。 尼克松和他的经济顾问在戴维营度了一个短暂的周末后，一切都改变了。经济顾问们接到必须于24小时内到达的通知，共同起草了一份经济咨文，使用了尼克松曾拒绝使用的权力。8月15日，星期天，尼克松便带上它在电视中出现。他把咨文中的方案叫做他的新经济政策。在他提出或者请求国会采取的措施中，有一项是关闭“黄金窗口”——美国不再让用美元兑换黄金。大多数进口货物必须付10%的附加税，目的在于使美国货在国内市场上比外国货有更大的竞争能力；而且在某些情况下，美国人如果购买美国货，还可以受到减税待遇。工业的新投资可以得到纳税贷款。汽车的7%出厂税也将废除，这样每辆汽车平均可节省200美元。除极少数例外，美国的物价、工资、租金、红利，都要在当前的水平上冻结90天。以财政部长约翰·康纳利为首的生活费用委员会，将主管冻结工作。 尼克松已使美元浮动，其效果和贬值一样。开头两周，在货币市场上，美元贬值2%。外国银行家是同情的，他们表明，如果美国取消附加税，他们准备重新让他们的货币调价。同时，外国也没有采取报复性措施。丹麦人的确规定了自己的附加税，法国人也嘟囔着要征收，但是，并没有出现多少要抵制突然变得便宜的美国货的关税壁垒威胁。康纳利在外交界威望有限，他坚持美国在国际收支中迅速增收130亿元的提法，引起一片抗议，说这样迅速的逆转会毁灭共同市场。但是，在国际货币基金组织9月份会议上，最富的“十国集团”的财界人士，仍对美国立场表示同情。康纳利也暗示，美国有可能重开“黄金窗口”，提高黄金价格，即直接贬值。随后在罗马会议上达成了由华盛顿史密森学会公布的协议，美国取消附加税，其他货币增值，黄金价格暂时上涨到每盎司38元。 在尼克松宣布实行冻结——或者如人们所说的“第一阶段”——的第二天，华尔街的道·琼斯工业指数在其历史上最繁忙的一天中，从32.93跃升到888.95；共有3172万股股票成交。9月，第一阶段的第一个整月，美国生活费用的上涨保持为2.4%，批发价格指数记录了五年来最大幅度的下跌。在工资和物价的最高限额方面，也出现了一些例外，在某些工业部门不可避免地出现大量的混乱现象，但就绝大部分情况来说，那办法是有效的。遗憾的是，按照定义，这只是第一步，到11月13日就将满期。在此之前，政府必须在纠正陷于冻结中的一些不公正现象的同时，找出有希望保持相对稳定的指导方针。 10月8日，尼克松再次向全国发表讲话，这次是建立起第二阶段的机构。这次，反对的意见较为强烈。新阶段的主要设计人经济学家赫伯特·斯坦，在尼克松发表第一次讲话时已料到将遇到的困难。他说：“我当时就想到，问题不在于冻结，而在于取消冻结，或解冻。”第二个计划的目标，是把通货膨胀控制在每年2%～3%之内。控制工作由7人组成的物价委员会和15人组成的工资委员会来掌握。总统说，对利润没有限制，计划的成败取决于“美国人民的自愿合作”。 由于担心劳资双方都可能从监督机构撤出代表，使得把通货膨胀保持在3%以下的希望成了泡影。米尼在迈阿密海滩告诉劳联-产联大会的代表们说：“如果总统不愿按照我们的条件让我们参加工资委员会，那他知道他该怎么做。”尼克松大胆地飞到代表大会的会议大厅，回答说：“我确实知道我该怎么做，而且马上就准备要做。”尽管如此，工资委员会在第一阶段的最后一周，还是接受了米尼的条件，宣布完全承认延期未加的工资增长，确定每年增加工资的标准为5.5%。即使这条界线也没有维持住，工资委员会在第二阶段的第一个决定中，便同意煤矿工人增加工资15%。物价委员会也同样不起作用。一开始它就批准两家钢铁公司生产的白铁皮提价7%。不到三星期，全国1500家最大的公司中有1/3申请批准提价，他们的要求被批准和被否决的比例竟达20∶1。 12月，股票市场再次猛跌。工资委员会对劳工继续采取和解姿态，但是三个月后，米尼和其他两名工会最高领导人仍然退出，指责多数委员都怀有偏见。第二天，联合汽车工人工会的罗纳德·伍德科克也退出了。这样工资委员会里只剩下一名劳工委员，运输工会主席弗兰克·费兹蒙斯。自从尼克松在圣诞周赦免吉米·霍法以来，运输工会一直听从尼克松摆布。那一宽大措施普遍认为出于政治考虑，但是很少有人责备尼克松。尽管夏季他在民意测验中的低落地位已经有所改善，一般人都相信，他要想重新当选，非设法得到他所能够得到的一切帮助不可。 美国人物画像拉尔夫·纳德〓〓拉尔夫·纳德的父亲是黎巴嫩移民，住在康涅狄格州的制造业中心文斯特德，是人们所熟悉的美国式的地方平民主义者。纳德拉·纳德的高原甜食店是一家饭馆兼面包点心店，顾客们抱怨说，店老板从来不让他们安静地吃饭。纳德经常给他们演讲现制度的弊端及其不平等和不公正的情况。和许多移民一样，他比土生的美国人更是个热诚的民主党人。他没完没了地责骂财团的罪行，老是威胁着要控告他们。到最后，他差不多和谁也谈不到一块，只有一个人例外，那就是他的幼子拉尔夫。 1938年，拉尔夫·纳德年仅四岁，当律师们在地方法院向着陪审团发表长篇辩词时，他就是个小小的听众。14岁时，他就天天阅读《国会记录》。他获得普林斯顿大学的奖学金，在该大学，他拒绝和其他学生一样穿麂皮马裤或其他相应的服装象征；校园的树木喷射滴滴涕，他也提出抗议。学校图书馆闭馆后，他经常被锁在馆里，结果管理人给了他一把钥匙；而他的反应倒符合他的性格，反而指责学校当局不应对其他学生的合法权利漠不关心。1955年，他被选为大学优秀生联谊会会员，毕业时成绩优异，进入哈佛法学院学习，而他却把这个学院称为培育权势仆役的“高价的工具工厂”。 他的清教徒名声传播开来。他发誓不看小说，认为那是浪费时间。看电影也是一样，他限制自己一年只看两部。他藐视戏剧、烟、酒、女人、晚会等等。在哈佛大学，他也不开汽车了，但在这个问题上他却另有动机。他开始研究汽车事故。他到附近的马萨诸塞州理工学院研究了一阵汽车技术之后，给《哈佛法学记录》写了一篇文章，题为《美国汽车：为死亡而设计》。 这个问题一直使他烦恼。他的整个生涯都是同人身保护工作相联系的——从不安全的天然煤气管道、食品的附加剂、变质肉类、污染问题、矿井健康条件、除草剂、不卫生的家禽、条件不足的私人医院，一直到彩色电视的辐射问题，但是汽车威胁的问题是最基本的。他在哈特福德开设了一家私人法律事务所(很快成了为穷人免费提供法律咨询的地方)，继续敦促各地方政府制定更加严格的汽车安全条例。1964年初，他把这一运动带到华盛顿，劳工部部长助理丹尼尔·帕特里克·莫伊尼汉聘用他为劳工部日薪50元的顾问。 在康涅狄格州参议员亚伯拉罕·里比科夫的合作下，纳德搞了一份200页厚的呼吁书，呼吁制定强制性汽车安全法令。通用汽车公司的一位工程师向他指出，雪佛莱厂的科维尔牌汽车容易翻车，因而成了他在工业界内第一个秘密联系人。1965年11月，纳德的第一部著作《任何速度都不安全：美国汽车设计中包含的危险》，其中把科维尔牌汽车叫做“最难驾驶的汽车之一”，并且指责汽车工业在“这种型号已经用了四年，共生产了1124076辆科维尔之后，才决定采取措施”。 《任何速度都不安全：美国汽车设计中包含的危险》一书的精装本和平装本共出售45万册，终使作者以证实汽车危害的专家身份于1966年2月10日出席了里比科夫委员会。三星期后，纳德指控通用汽车公司利用私人侦探跟他找麻烦，打电话对他进行谩骂，以及企图用女人勾引他来败坏他的名誉，于是使他成了全国知名人物。一个通用汽车公司的工作人员在宣誓下承认，他的上司曾指示他：“不论在什么地方设法抓住这家伙的一点把柄……使他不敢再跟他们捣蛋……封住他的嘴。”纳德提出控告，要求赔偿2600万元，结果得到了28万元。这钱和他写书的版税一样，都用在他的事业上。那年夏天，“全国交通和机动车安全法”获得通过时，《华盛顿邮报》宣称：“这项重要立法所以成为可能，大部分功劳应该属于一个人——拉尔夫·纳德……这个为公众利益进行活动的单人院外说客，战胜了全国力量最强大的工业。” 纳德自己承担起全国交通安全署监督人的责任后，又插手过问肉类包装业，其结果是使得1967年肉类卫生法得以通过。他的攻击范围原来还限于消费者的剥削者，后来更扩大到包括食品和药物管理局、联合碳化物公司的烟囱、智囊机构、不安全的卡车、纸浆和造纸工厂、财产税、官僚主义者、消费信贷、银行和超级市场。一个评论家说：“纳德并不是维护消费者利益的人，他只是一味反对消费。” 纳德不同于林肯·斯特芬斯时代那些揭发丑事的人，他得到保守选民的支持。在充满无政府主义和混乱的时代，他仍然相信能在这个制度内部进行改革。他是个直线式的思想家，提倡守法和工业秩序。股票经纪人赞助他的事业，波特女士的学校给他派去志愿工作者。现在，他已有一些助手——一个记者称他们是“纳德袭击者”，这些人大多数是毕业于上流学校的上层中产阶级的白人，他们的姓名颇像普尔门卧车车厢的名称：罗维尔·道奇、威廉·哈里逊·韦尔福德、鲁本·罗伯逊三世、霍华德·塔夫脱四世等。其中有个叫爱德华·考克斯的，后来成了尼克松的女婿。 纳德把他的助手们安置在全国报业大楼的几间狭小的办公室里，旧桌椅是从残缺物品拍卖会上买来的，装档案用的是苹果箱，书架是用木板和砖头搭的。他让这些人一周工作100小时，工资之低接近贫穷标准。他们编写的书籍所得版税，全部用于运动。但是他们没有怨言。纳德本人一年挣20万元，自己只用5000元。 他住的带家具的房间，靠近杜邦大厦，每月租金80元，办公室租金每月97元，也不用个秘书。别人送给他的公文包，他都用来做档案袋，自己旅行时却把文件装在一扎扎牛皮纸大封套里。他的黑皮鞋已经磨损，鞋带断了又接起来。他穿一套满是皱褶的灰衣服，白衬衫起了毛边，系着过时多年的窄领带。他身高六英尺四英寸，一头波浪式的黑发，一副年轻人的面孔，《新闻周刊》把他比做“弗兰克·卡普拉影片里的吉米·斯蒂华式的英雄人物”。他的惟一特殊开支是电话费。这笔费用很大。工业界的志愿侦探给他打电话的费用，都由他付。 纳德的大部分收入来自讲演费。他每周接到50份请他讲演的邀请，他一年只接受150次，每次收费多达2000元。继沃尔特·鲁瑟之后，他成为最擅长长篇大论的演说家，一次上台演说，时间很少在1小时45分钟以下。演说结束时，从来不加上点儿什么华丽辞藻。他说完停下来，转身就走。大学的听众对他报以狂热的欢呼，但他从不回身表示谢意。如果有人请他签名留念，他会粗率地回答：“不签。”一位朋友说：“纳德怕被当成电影明星，把他的私生活浪漫化，所以他干脆抛弃了私生活。” 他是个无法对付的顾客。在饭馆点菜叫饭时，他会对女服务员说：“三明治里的火腿是单切的吗·这乳酪是真正的，还是人造的·你吃糖吗·你吃·那你听我告诉你——那东西绝无用处，毫无食用价值。”他对班机上的女服务员说：“在整个飞机上，你可以感到自豪地供应的惟一东西就是那小包花生。而且你还应当去掉它上边的盐。”阿勒根尼航空公司竟敢把他预订的座位让给别人，使他没有坐上飞机，他于是提出控诉，判得损失赔偿费5万元，这笔钱一半给他本人，一半付给由于他误了飞机而未能听到他演说的消费者集体。 罗伯特·肯尼迪问他为什么“干这一套”，他回答说：“如果我从事防止虐待动物的活动，就没有人会问我这个问题。”他说：他的最终目的“不亚于为工业革命进行质量改革”，任何诱惑也不能使他偏离这个目标。尼古拉斯·冯·霍夫曼和戈尔·维达尔提议他竞选总统。他说：“我对公职不感兴趣。国内最伟大的事，是公民活动。政治也要居于其后。” 尽管他散布福音，致力于公益事业，过着修道士的生活，他对社会的影响还是成问题的。这一点他有时似乎也知道。有一次他说：“我们总是失败。”“整个问题就是如何限制失败的程度。”听众似乎把他看成是个演员。他们给他鼓掌好像是赞扬演出一样。很少人感到自己必须参与其事，必须仿效他的榜样，或听从他的建议。他们照旧驾驶底特律的大型汽车，买加过工的食品吃，脸上抹一层昂贵的化妆品，抽着有毒的香烟。 他有一次沉思时想到：“两千年前在雅典，一个人可以一早起床，在城里闲逛，调查和他个人以及本市同乡福利攸关的事。没有人会问他：'你和谁一伙·'”70年代的美国人不需探问关于他的情况，他们知道他是干什么的。但他们对他的活动并不表示支持。使他感到极为痛苦的是，不管他们对他喝彩声多么强烈，不管他们多么经常说他们赞成他，但在这物质至上的黄金盛世，他们并非真正同他是一伙的。