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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 30, No. 2. 1967.

Upsetting Revelation

Upsetting Revelation

A former Secretary-General of the International Student Conference said he was upset by the revelation that this organisation had been supported by Central Intelligence Agency money, but did not feel this detracted from the value of its work.

Mr. Norman Kingsbury, ISC Secretary-General from 1959 to 1961 and now Registrar of the University of Waikato, said he did not believe there were such things as clean or dirty money.

"A lot of worthwhile things were done throughout the time I was working for the ISC," he said, "and I still regard these as valuable in spite of the revelation."

The salaries of the Secretariat were paid by national union subscriptions throughout Mr. Kingsbury's term of office.

"But for particular projects, such as seminars or Conferences," said Mr. Kingsbury. "we drew up a budget and submitted it to an American foundation, usually the Foundation for Youth and Student Affairs, or the San Jacinta Fund."

Both these foundations have been named as recipients of CIA money.

Mr. Kingsbury said he was not aware at the time of the source of Foundation funds, but he knew the tax structure in the United States encouraged wealthy persons to make donations to foundations.

He stressed that no pressure was brought to bear in the ISC after a financial grant.

"Recent Conferences have been financed by the Foundation For Youth and Student Affairs, and it certainly received no direct benefit from them."

Foundations did not withhold donations to any particular type of project, Mr. Kingsbury said. Their refusals were dependent on the size and frequency of requests.