Wormser, Rene A. Foundations: Their Power and Influence. Sevierville TN:
Covenant House Books, 1993. 412 pages. First published in 1958 by
Devin-Adair Company, New York.
In 1952, Congress commissioned the Cox Committee to investigate U.S.
foundations. In 1953 it was the Reece Committee, and the author of this book
was its general counsel. Wormser concedes that "the emphasis on a search for
organized Communist penetration of foundations absorbed much of the energy
of the investigators and detracted somewhat from the efficacy of their
general inquiry into 'subversion'" (page 177). He is more interested in
an emerging "elite" that has control of gigantic financial resources: "An
unparalleled amount of power is concentrated increasingly in the hands of
an interlocking and self-perpetuating group. Unlike the power of corporate
management, it is unchecked by stockholders; unlike the power of government,
it is unchecked by the people; unlike the power of churches, it is unchecked
by any firmly established canons of value." (page viii)
Forty years later, it's clear that Wormser's concerns over foundations
were not misplaced; they still wield enormous political and cultural power.
It's also clear that Congress should have worried more about the U.S. secret
state than about Communism. The connections between intelligence elites,
and the international programs funded by major foundations such as Carnegie,
Ford, and Rockefeller, are quite amazing and deserve their own book.
ISBN 0-925591-28-9
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