Still in an economy-minded mood, President Johnson sent to Congress last week a foreign aid message asking for a bare-bones $3.4 billion for fiscal 1965. It was the lowest figure since Harry Truman inaugurated the program in 1947, and $1.5 billion less than President Kennedy originally requested last year.
By keeping his sights somewhere close to a realistic target, Johnson was proceeding on the premise that Congress would call this a sensible procedure and keep its whittling knife sheathed. But initial Capitol Hill reaction was different.
Warned Louisiana's Democratic Rep resentative Otto...