On the Right

New York, April 4—It is by no means obvious why everyone persists in referring to the election of Allende as a purely “internal” matter. It was never any such thing, and if only Harold Geneen of ITT recognized the character of the Allende victory, why then Harold Geneen is a lot smarter than most of the senators who are interrogating officials from ITT and drinking deep draughts of sanctimony over ITT’s offer to contribute $1 million toward any government-sponsored plan to prevent the installation of Allende as president of Chile.

We are talking about September of 1970. On September 4 Allende won a plurality, which did not automatically entitle him to be named president of Chile. That decision was for the parliament to make, at a scheduled session on October 24. The question is whether ITT had a legitimate interest in adding its pressure to that of others to persuade the parliament to name someone other than Allende or, better still, to call for a new election between Allende and Frei, which election, by the way, Frei would easily have won.

About the Author

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr. founded National Review magazine in 1955.

Featured Tags

New York, April 4—It is by no means obvious why everyone persists in referring to the election of Allende as a purely “internal” matter. It was never any such thing, and if only Harold Geneen of ITT recognized the character of the Allende victory, why then Harold Geneen is a lot smarter than most of the senators who are interrogating officials from ITT and drinking deep draughts of sanctimony over ITT’s offer to contribute $1 million toward any government-sponsored plan to prevent the installation of Allende as president of Chile.

We are talking about September of 1970. On September 4 Allende won a plurality, which did not automatically entitle him to be named president of Chile. That decision was for the parliament to make, at a scheduled session on October 24. The question is whether ITT had a legitimate interest in adding its pressure to that of others to persuade the parliament to name someone other than Allende or, better still, to call for a new election between Allende and Frei, which election, by the way, Frei would easily have won.