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BUT, now we find this world speeding up, faster and faster, in
all ways. Governments are being toppled and overthrown faster and
faster.
What does this MEAN? It means WE HAVE TO MOVE FASTER to get
this Message into these countries. Let me show you what I mean.
In August 1973 I was in Santiago, Chile, for a meeting with
President Allende. A few weeks later, I was in the Arab world --
Lebanon -- for a meeting with President Franjieh. And while I was
there, President Allende was executed in the very room where I had the
meeting. A few weeks after that the Arab-Israeli War started while
I was in Bangkok. Three weeks after that, the government of
Thailand was overthrown, and Prime Minister Kittikachorn fled the
country.
In March 1973, at a luncheon in New Delhi, India, attended by
some ambassadors, I was invited by the ambassadors from Ethiopia
and Afghanistan to visit their countries for personal meetings with
their respective kings. Before I could arrange for the visit to
Afghanistan, that government was overthrown. The king fled to
exile. I did visit with Emperor Haile Selassie TWICE, and had a
big campaign all set up, when in August 1974, a military coup
took the famous Emperor prisoner. One of the last things he did
before being taken away a prisoner was to send me a telegram of
congratulations on my birthday. He remembered that I was just eight
days younger than he. What has happened to Haile Selassie I do
not know, but I believe he is still alive, held prisoner.
A big campaign had been set for Ethiopia. Now we have to
start all over again in that country.
I was to have held a campaign in Saigon, capital of South
Vietnam, with the full approval of President Thieu, but the war
condition there prevented it; up to 50,000 people would have been
assembled in the outdoor university stadium -- it could have
invited a bombing from North Vietnamese war planes.
We were going to have a big campaign in Bangkok this past
January, but the Vietnam War, which had burst out anew, had caused
fear of assembling for many people.
What I am saying is WAR and OVERTHROW of governments are
occurring faster and faster. This means 1) we are nearing the
END of this world -- closer than we think; and 2) we must speed
up our own program before more overthrows occur. And NOW this
telegram I received just before boarding the plane for the trip to
Bombay. I was on this trip to make campaign plans for the night
of March 1, on which 25,000 people were to attend in a large
outdoor stadium. It was to be preceded by a week of luncheons
and private meetings before civic groups of various kinds.
Professor Osamu Gotoh of my own team who produced campaigns
in other world capitals had gone ahead in the past ten days
preparing the campaign in Bombay. He sent me the following telegram:
"My decision is to cancel the coming public meeting for the