BB-17-aaa-1
[Editor’s note: This memo was written by Paula Adams.]
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION:
- We canceled the exhibition because it fell right on one of the days when we were in serious crisis, however, we will likely have an individual one in about 6 weeks to 2 months. Coddette wants us to sell things for Xmas presents at that time. Things that we have made by hand on the farm. He especially wanted some of the educational toys to sell. He has not yet given us an answer about the cultural presentation, so we are in limbo there. We will pass this information on just as soon as we know. In my opinion, Coddette is very weak and cannot get things done very easily. We always end up going to someone else when we need any tangible assistance.
- I think that we should have mail sent in and out from the interior frequently and not talk on the radio at all about details.
- I think Father Morrison will be blasting us in his newspaper. He sounded very evil on the telephone, like he had some sinister humor over our harassment when I spoke to him on the telephone. I don’t think approaching him will do any good, but instead only give him more to print. After he prints his nasty little piece we will then be on a spot down here and would need to get another press to make some positive statements. The man’s name who has been trying to get something for his newspaper, the Catholic Standard, is a fellow by the name of Oscar ? . I am a little concerned that after Morrison prints his statement, the Mirror will then pick up on it and print that one of our members and tried to contact the Mirror (and I will deny it, if it comes to that).
- I did talk to both Cheddi [Cheddi] Jagan and Janet Jagan. Both listened to the basics about the conspiracy in the US and how it appeared that the tentacles were reaching got here into Guyana. Both were very kind and said they were sympathetic, however, they had a big meeting about the sugar strike and had I called earlier about the press conference, he would have been able to send someone. I said that this was a personal invitation rather than a general thing for any reporter because of our mutual friendship with Coleman. I don’t know whether they believed me or not, both were polite and busy and could not come. So far I have seen nothing in the Mirror, however, I will deny any knowledge of the telephone call if it ever comes up (for now). I am sure the telephone call was bugged anyway.
- Someone telephoned Rex McKay’s girlfriend on her unlisted telephone and said they were me and something about someone being more sick. A young girl took the message and didn’t understand it, but whoever it was said she was Paula Adams from People’s Temple. Not only was it not me, but I have no idea what her unlisted number is and I told her so. She said that she thought as much and that because of the strangeness of the telephone call, she called me to find out if I had made it. No one else in our house made it either.
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BB-17-aaa-2
Page 2 Miscellaneous
- I am more than a little concerned that someone is going to try to pressure Gene [Eugene Chaikin] into something in his physical and emotional state. I don’t think he will split, however I do think it is possible that someone may try to single him out and try to pressure him after listening to all of the descriptions over the radio. I think he is much more vulnerable than he realizes, but he seems to interpret it as our paranoia rather than a concern for him. I think Gene, at this point, will be okay. He seems to genuinely want to get his teeth into that farm. I hope Joyce [Touchette] and Charlie [Touchette] will not be arrogant with him. He will not take it and he would leave before he would get around people who put him down. He has a lot of good ideas for that farm, which it needs badly, so I think he would be genuinely happy if he were not confronted and were not treated unkindly.
- [Kit] Nascimento is back in town. I saw him in his car yesterday. He was scheduled to come back the same time as Dr. [Ptolemy] Reid, so it would have been time for him to come back in.
- Unless an absolute emergency, I don’t recommend calling any ministers or top officials or even lawyers at night. They’re all quite annoyed with us, and even though the people whom we called were favorable toward our organization, they were highly annoyed at being called in the night, e.g. Lionel [Luckhoo], Hubert Jack, [Vibert] Mingo, [Fred] Wills, Commissioner [Lloyd] Barker, etc.
- We were called in to that meeting with Commissioner Barker, Asst Commissioner Ragubir, and District Superintendent Brown. They all appeared to be sympathetic to our situation, but because they received a somewhat hostile report from Inspector Benjamin, an air of them and us prevailed. Bernard repeated that the police and the PT were friendly and it would remain that way, however, he wanted that sign down which contained his name. I told him over the phone about the sign, but I don’t think he understood that I was telling him the wording of the sign, but instead was telling him our motivation for putting a sign which told people not to come on our property. Barker is a super compensator and is a relatively fair person who has a great deal of respect for Dr. Reid. He has always shown overt signs of interest in me, and so toward both myself and Karen [Layton] this time. We are having Helen [Swinney] bake him a cake and we will deliver it to him at his office in the late afternoon. He stays late at his office every day to get the reports about the sugar strikes and any disruptions.
- I think that things have fairly well settled down here. I think we are going to have some bad days over the custody issue down here, but both Wills and Luckhoo said that the situation will be taken care of without Hill [Jim Jones] or Jeremy having to appear in court.
- Several people who have been involved in the issue with Jeremy such as the Commissioner of Police have asked what we are doing to get more into the Port Kaituma community. He thinks it would be worth our while to do something that would show more unity.
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BB-17-aaa-3
Page 3 Miscellaneous
He said that his reports say that we are too alienated from the community. Perhaps we could do something like bring people in to watch a movie, or bring people from the PK area in for a night of movies, and a tour of the farm like a field trip or something like that. Anyway, he has been getting reports from the past (not since this thing came up, but before this) that we don’t have enough community interaction and that we stay off to ourselves.
- No one in the various ministries know where the possible journalists are or even who they are. That sounds rather strange to me, but that is what I was told.
- This Leonard Eugene, who owns the one-night-stand hotels in Trinidad, is obviously crazy about Joyce. I think that we could do much better from him if Joyce would manipulate him in a different way. I sometimes think that she does things for her own gain, such as telling us that Leonard is only going to put her name on the insurance policy on the vehicle he is buying for himself for her to use. I am sure Leonard would put Karen’s, mine, and anyone else’s that she suggested. In fact, I think if I suggested it he would also, so we will have our names put on. Joyce told us that he didn’t want anyone to drive it gut her. After meeting Leonard, I don’t think that is true. He may have said it, but could be easily persuaded to add us also. Joyce has not turned in the diamond ring he gave her, nor any of the $250 he gave her. She gave Helen $100 of it, but she kept the rest and has been using it on legitimate things such as medicines, etc., but she has not made any attempt to turn it in. I have not asked for, because with the situation with Gene, I didn’t want to rock the boat. I don’t know who will be next, therefore, I am hesitant about speaking to anyone on a subject which might open Pandora’s box. I don’t know if she even told you over the radio. Joyce is definitely in this thing to some extent for herself, but she has got a person who is willing to help all of us with various things. He has rented taxis for Karen and I to deliver letters all over town when we did not have transportation. It would have taken the better part of a day, and only took an hour because of his help. He looks like he is going to get an EKG machine for Joyce. He said he wanted to help Joyce with her Florence Nightingale ambitions and help her to realize her dreams.
- I think that someone should assist Phyllis [Chaikin] in fixing up the cottage Gene will be staying in. Gene love nice potted plants, so perhaps Peter Wotherspoon could make some nice hanging containers also. He would like, according to Sharon [Amos], a filing cabinet, a desk & chair, lots of plants, and just generally a room fixed up very nice. That should be done before he gets back.
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BB-17-ddd-1
[Editor’s note: This memo was written by Laura Johnston.]
Report on Offers about Exchange of Currency
July 21, 1977
1. Joe Mahase, resident on Third St. in Alberttown, is trying to sell his house. He said he would [handwritten insertion: “prefer the usual deposit of dollars abroad come about when our [several illegible words]”] be “quite happy” to get a bank draft for US currency, and he could “get it out.” He said he knew some “very good airline pilots” on Pan Am [handwritten insertion: “& another airline that was not clear in the documentation”] and they would probably take the draft out and bring it back safely.
Mr. Mahase is an East Indian Hindu. He was very critical of the Guyana government. The gist of his remarks follow: He said his children are being victimized, and he wants to be free but is not free here. He wants out of Guyana because of its politics. He spoke against Cuba and Castro and said he favored Bautista; he said Cubans were sorry the day after the revolution there. He said leaders like Castro only appeal to the illiterate. He mentioned that a few days ago six Cuban girls were found dead in the ocean with Cuban money on them, but not a word was printed in the Guyana papers. He said the Socialist press will not tell you the truth and he implied that destructive things were happening at Georgetown, but the people would not hear about them.
He said he had had his luggage taken off an airplane and searched at the airport recently, and yet he would never be so stupid as to carry US money on or with him. He implied that Prime Minister [Forbes] Burnham was responsible for the searching episode, even though Prime Minister Burnham calls him as a friend for advice. He said Deputy Prime Minister [Ptolemy] Reid had also been a friend for years, but he (Reid) would be far worse once in power. He said Opposition Leader [Cheddi] Jagan was “left of left”, that Prime Minister Burnham used to be “left” but now is “left of left.” He said Deputy Prime Minister Reid have been a fair person but now lives by ideology alone. He said he knew what was going to happen 12 years ago, so he has put money in the US, England and Canada. A few days ago his attorney in New York City called him about making an investment in a business of about $25,000.
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2.
He said he had a lot of friends and have done a lot of good things. [handwritten addition: “He sells a machine & equipment for Wieting & Richter”]
2. M. Beepat of M. Beepat and Sons of 101 Regent St., L/town, offered to exchange foreign currency (US) at the current exchange rate, with an additional contribution of $250.00 per $1000 exchanged.
Beepat is East Indian, owns a furniture factory, a clothes factory, as well as the shop on Regent St. with miscellaneous goods. He said he has two daughters abroad, and that since the exchange policy of the Government was instituted, he is unable to contribute to them. He has several other children in Guyana. He said his exchange offer was confidential, but he was very obvious.
3. (I’d like to tell you something good I heard along with the bad.)
Mr. Len Beharry, a Hindu whose Beharry Bakery is the largest one in Georgetown, said he likes Guyana, and he spoke well of Dr. Reid who, he said, is his personal friend. [handwritten addition: “He said Dr. Reid is very [illegible word].”] He said he had voted for Dr. Jagan.
In a discussion about selling his bakery, he never expressed an interest in US dollars.
Attached to the Bakery are a snack bar, a liquor bar, and a machine repair shop. He said that the net gross for the bakery alone in 1976 was $86,000+, and the profit on beer and soft drink sales was 100 percent. (He has 42 employees and pays them $1300 per week.)
He is now dabbling in filmmaking, using Guyanese actors whom he has trained himself. I asked why he was interested in selling his bakery, and he said because he “made a mint” and has an estate on the East Bank, etc.
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BB-17-rrr
Date: March [1977]
RE: Fred Wills, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Subject: Protocol for Jim, Invite to US
1. I asked Wills about Protocol and told him the other persons responsible to meet the Bishop did not show. He replied that he was out of town at the time. I reminded him of his projection of the possibility in his connection w/ the PNC party (The very thing we were trying to avoid, arousing hostility, I brought on with this suggestion). His reply was “Listen the lady, – In so many words, he told me I wasn’t diplomatic. Later I apologize for having a call come in at his desk. Cde. Ruby Harry (the Prime Minister Sec.) was to call me, and I left message to call at his no. He told me to “shut up,” then stated his office was our office, my phone is your phone. I’m not sure if the last statement was a softening factor, or a sincere one.
2. Mike [Prokes] invited him to dinner, and Tim Stoen invited him to the US on behalf of Bishop Jones.
3. Huey Newton requested to come to Guyana for a few months, then on to the US for his trial.
Wills replied Why not stay in Cuba? (In so many words) Huey’s already a burden on a socialist country. He said the US wanted to know why Guyana would take People’s Temple and not Huey? Wills said, We are two separate entities, obviously totally different.
US was glad Guyana turned down Newton.
Mike asked Wills directly, may I ask who this was?
Wills replied No. Abruptly, he acknowledged he personally said no to Huey coming to Guyana. (As he told it, it appeared he was a major influence for that discussion.
Wills felt when he was talking to them, and was asking for aide, “What do I have to do, come home and torture a few people and put a few political prisoners in jail. He noted before this statement,
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BB-17-sss
21 July 1977
To: Jim Jones
From: Laura [Johnston]
Re: Offer made today about exchange of currency
Today while procuring, we met a man named Mr. M. Beepat, of M. Beepat and Sons of 101 Regent St., L/town, offered us a deal to exchange foreign currency with him. He said that if he exchanged Guyanese money with US money, at the current exchange rate, he would contribute $250.00 per $1000 exchanged.
Evelyn [Leroy] and I said that we didn’t understand about the exchange and currency policy at all. Then we said that our financial secretary was in the interior, and would be for an additional 2 weeks or so, and that we would mention it to her upon her return.
(Background – He is East Indian, owns a furniture factory, a clothes factory as well as the shop on Regent Street with miscellaneous goods. He says that he has 2 daughters abroad, and that since the exchange policy of the Gov’t, he isn’t able to contribute to them. He has several other children, here in Guyana. He said that the matter was confidential, and spoke freely with Evelyn, and with me, but when Jocelyn [Carter] came in, he wanted to make sure to identify her as US, and not Guyanese. He was very obvious.