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Minutes - Port Hood Three Defense Committee Executive Committee meeting
of January 10, 1967
Present - Carl Griffler, Manuel Magana, Ivanhoe Donaldson, Nora Eisenburg,
Ricky Eisenburg, Dan Seeger,   Mrs. Agnes Johnson, Rev. Richard
Leonard, Mike Stein, Paul Eidsvik, Fred Halstead, Lee D'Lugin,
Stanley Faulkner, Irving Beinin, Francis Goldin, Joe Mora, Eric
Weinberger
Requesting to be excused - Ralph DiGia, Dave Dellinger, Prof. Stanley
Diamond. - A.J„ Muste is out of the country.
1. Background to the case - short history of the defense committee and
the case so far.  Discussion.  Report on the Fort Hood Three
demonstration at Ft. Leavenworth,
2. Report on legal situation - by Stanley Faulkner - Briefs are now being
prepared for the appeal of the court-martials to the Board of Military
Review.  The Board is expected to hear the appeal in March or April.
If unsuccessful, the case will then be appealed to the Court of
Military Appeals, and then to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The civil
actions (request for an injunction, etc.) are now moot.  There was
discussion of legal technicalities and of the expected timetable for
y the appeals.
3. Finances - Eric Weinberger reported that we are now approximately $2000
in debt.  Some bills are pressing (printing and telephone) and little
money is coming in.  Approximately $1500 has been raised specifically
for the N.Y. TIMES ad.  The committee's fixed operating expenses tend
to be |)600 - $800 per week.  There was discussion of the financial
situation and a number of suggestions were made about raising funds --
including regular letters to FH3 and other mailing lists, fund raising
parties, speaking engagements for Grace and others, placing of small
ads in "left" and peace press across the country, and the establishment
of a fund raising committee.  No action was taken.
1|.  N.Y. TIMES ad - Of $7000 needed for full-page ad, #l500 has been
raised and $2000 more is promised.  The possibility of obtaining the
balance is now diminishing.  It was decided that we should place during
the first week of February the largest ad financially possible at that
time.
5.  Explanation of executive committee and steering committee - discussion
of how the steering committee had functioned in the past.  It was
agreed that the executive committee would be responsible for policy
decisions and would meet approximately cnce a month.  The executive
committee would elect a smaller steering committee that would meet
approximately weekly to guide the week to week work of the committee.
'6.  Discussion of future activity - The discussion was opened by Irving
Beinin with a series of general perspectives for the committee.  He
proposed that because of the importance of the Fort Hood case the
committee should be more than a defense committee, that it should
become an organizing focus for the movement as a whole.  In particular
It should focus on the antidraft movement and seek to become an
organizing center for that movement.- He proposed the .following
specific campaigns:  1) Place, the N.Y."TIMES ad, hoping tïï^Tît would
be picked up and reproduced in smaller local papers across the country.
2) national speaking and organizing tours aimed at establishing a
network of local committees across the country. 3) a national petition
campaign.
Mike Stein proposed the following additions to Irving's proposals:
1) that the petition say three things — We support the act of the
Fort Hood Three, We demand that they be freed, and We are not in favor
of having Americans sent to fight in Vietnam. 2) that we initiate a
small meeting of national youth leaders sometime in the end of
February to discuss actions (such as lobbying, etc., around the upcoming Congressional discussion of the selective service act) to abolish
the draft, and to perhaps call for a national union of 500-1000 draft
resisters.  3) to plan for a mass national anti-draft conference and
the establishment of a national network of anti-draft committees.
There was extensive discussion of these and other proposals, as well
as of the general perspectives of the committee and the role the
committee should attempt to play.  (It was suggested and generally