election they did not take the position on either side. In my fourth election-maybe it was the third and fourth-I actually had the support of the AFL-CIO. Based on their feeling that what I had done for the State was in the best interest of the working men and women whether they were union employees or not. And they so stated in their statement of support. I will never forget one amusing incident; the Bartenders Union came out against me in one election and the membership demanded a vote and when they had the vote they switched the leadership's position and supported me. I do not want you to draw any wrong conclusions from that. Senator HUGH SCOTT. Usually, the switch of a vote results when the union is convinced that you are making use of the product. [Laughter.] Mr. ROCKEFELLER. With my family background, sir, that did not quite come within the ethics. Senator HUGH SCOTT. Finally, some Vice Presidents have presided frequently over the Senate and others have not. President Ford as Vice President did frequently preside. What is your view as to that? Could we in the Senate expect to have the benefit of your presiding frequently subject to being called away on specific assigned duties? Do you have any objection to looking at us day in and day out? Mr. ROCKEFELLER. The answer is "Yes." I look forward toSenator HUGH SCOTT. The answer is yes, you have objection? [Laughter.] Mr. ROCKEFELLER. No, the first part. The subsequent part of your question that I would look forward to presiding if possible and both from the point of constitutional responsibility, and second, because of my great respect for the tremendously important role that the Senate plays, that the whole legislative process plays; and last but not least, a tremendously strong nostalgic feeling about my grandfather who preceded Senator Pell. Senator HUGH SCOTT. I thank you very much, Governor. You summarized somewhat from your original statement that has now been released to the press so if there is no objection we will make that statement in full a part of the record as well as your explanatory summary. [The written statement of Mr. Rockefeller follows:] STATEMENT OF NELSON A. ROCKEFELLER, NOMINEE FOR VICE Contents Page C. Origin of the family ethic. E. Philanthropy-John D. Rockefeller... F. Philanthropy-John D. Rockefeller, Jr.. E. Securities owned-listed.. F. Standard Oil, Chase Bank, stocks owned.. G. Blind trust established.. 40-185 - 74-4 Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Members of the Committee on Rules and Administration of the United States Senate: I. INTRODUCTION I come before you with a sense of humility and a deep awareness of the historic significance of these hearings. Eleven months ago, you were convened to consider the nomination of a Vice President who is now President of the United States-the first President of this country ever to hold office without being elected by the people. The change of national leadership was accomplished, after two years of travail, on an orderly basis within the framework of the Constitution. Now you are convened again to consider the nomination of another Vice President under the 25th Amendment-a nomination which, if confirmed, would mean that for the first time in the Nation's history, both the President and the Vice President would hold office without having been elected. In the light of all this, I not only recognize the special responsibility which faces me but also am profoundly aware of the tremendous responsibility facing the members of the two Committees and of the Congress as representatives of the people in these proceedings. I will therefore do my best to give a frank and open statement of my background, my associations, my purpose, my finances, and anything else you want to know bearing upon my qualifications. Above all, I am here to answer your questions to the best of my ability. II. FAMILY BACKGROUND First, if I may, I would like to make some comments on the intellectual and spiritual heritage that has molded the beliefs and guided the sense of purpose of our family. The ancestors of both my parents came to this country to seek religious freedom. My mother's family descended from Roger Williams, the pioneer of religious freedom who founded Rhode Island in 1636, and from Elder William Brewster, who emigrated on the Mayflower and was a founder of Plymouth Colony in 1620. The early members of my father's family were Huguenots, French Protestants driven out of France to Germany, where they are said to have changed their name from Roquefeuille to Rockefeller. The first Rockefeller emigrated to this country in 1723. A. MOTHER'S FAMILY My mother's father was Senator Nelson W. Aldrich from Rhode Island. He grew up a poor boy, left school in 1858 at age seventeen to work as a grocery clerk in Providence, went into business at an early age and ultimately made his career in government. He became Speaker of the Assembly in Rhode Island, was elected to Congress, and then, in 1881, was sent by the Legislature of Rhode Island to represent his state in the Senate of the United States. He was Senator from Rhode Island for thirty-one years, the last seventeen of which he was Majority Leader of the Senate. He was leader of what was known as the Old Guard, a creative conservative, and a protectionist. As Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate, after extensive study of the European banking system, he drafted legislation which ultimately created the Federal Reserve System of the United States. Senator Aldrich was an engaging and dynamic personality, a man who had a great interest in people and loved the arts. My mother grew up in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Washington. She was very close to her father and usually accompanied him on his trips abroad. B. FATHER'S FAMILY My father's family also came from humble origins. His great grandfather, Godfrey Rockefeller, left Massachusetts in a covered wagon train, headed for Michigan in 1832 with a wife and ten children. However, they ended their trip in the southern tier of New York, where they bought a farm on a hill in Tioga County. They named it Michigan Hill. My father's grandfather, William Avery Rockefeller, bought a second farm on Michigan Hill, west of Godfrey's home. It was this farm, in a three-room house, that my grandfather, John D. Rocke feller, was born, the eldest of three sons. 7 The land was poor and life was tough. To provide for the family William worked as a hired hand and cut and sold lumber in a little sawmill he had on the property. He was a gregarious, adventuresome and fearless man who worked hard and paid his debts promptly. Among other things, he got interested in botanic medicine, the selling of which occupied an increasing amount of his time and took him on longer and longer journeys away from home. Twice during these early years, the family moved to other farms in the southern tier of New York State, and then later to Ohio. The care of the farms and the five children fell importantly on his wife, Eliza Davison, a strong and disciplined woman of Scottish descent. As time went by, she looked increasingly to her eldest son, John, for comfort and for aid in looking after the youngest children. From a very early age, he milked the cow, drove the horse, split wood and worked in the large gardens which his mother always kept. At the age of seven, he started raising and selling turkeys for his own account, and doing odd jobs for neighbors. He was careful with the money he earned. Even at that early age, his mother taught him to give something of what he earned to those in greater need-usually 10% and more. The remainder he saved, and by the time he was eleven he was loaning out his savings. The character of the young man was thus set during these formative years by the precepts and examples of both his parents. It has been said that, "His mother drilled him in honesty, sobriety, industry, thoughtfulness, altruism and a fervent religious faith, supported by regular attendance at Sunday School and church." His father demanded self-reliance, thrift and industry and trained him to be keen-witted, honest and dependable. He insisted on precision, promptness and responsibility in everything the young man did. And as time went by, he taught him the sacredness of a contract, the importance of scrupulously carrying it out. C. ORIGIN OF THE FAMILY ETHIC Thus the roots of our family ethic were deeply implanted-an ethic based on the fundamental American values which has come down through the generations since then. These were the guiding forces throughout by grandfather's life, an ethic which his wife, Laura Spelman Rockefeller, profoundly strengthened. My grandmother's family, the Spelmans of Ohio, were deeply religious people. They operated a station on the underground railroad through which slaves were aided on their flights to freedom in mid-nineteenth century America. Not only was my grandmother a dedicated abolitionist; she was an equally determined prohibitionist. This family ethnic was transmitted by precept and example and conscientious daily instruction, from my grandparents to my father. And like my grandmother, my mother's life further reinforced this ethic, which was transmitted to each of us as children by both our parents. These have been the motivating and guiding forces in our lives as a family. And I mention this subject because I believe it is important to your judgment of me. D. GRANDFATHER'S EARLY YEARS By the time my grandfather was fourteen in 1853, his family had moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he went to high school. At sixteen, my grandfather left school and after weeks of diligently searching for the kind of work that would give him experience in business, he found a job as an accountant at $3.50 a week with a firm of commission merchants and produce shippers, where he remained for three and a half years. At the age of twenty, with $900 savings and $1,100 borrowed at interest from his father, he and a young Englishman organized Clark and Rockefeller in a new commodity commission business with $4,000 capital to deal in grain, hay, meats and miscellaneous goods. The business prospered, and four years later. he and his partner joined three others in forming a second company, called Andrews, Clark and Company, to go into the oil refining business. Two years later, when he was only twenty-six, he and Andrews bought out the three Clark brothers for $72,500, and formed a new oil company under the name of Rockefeller and Andrews. This was the beginning of the Standard Oil Company. Their refinery was already the largest in Cleveland and one of the largest in the country. During the ensuing years, the company grew rapidly into a totally integrated indus try, handling oil from the wellhead to the consumer on a world-wid asis |