Khrushchev's Visit to Iowa 1959 - film 2 part 1

with a great deal more ease the motorcycle policemen a veritable phalanx of them has been gathered here getting ready to escort him and before long we will see the Khrushcev party leaving out of our view at the moment other members of the party including Mayor Isles the lieutenant governor the members of the Chamber of Commerce Mrs. Khrushchev of course Mrs. Loveless and all the others who have been present for these brief welcoming ceremonies will be getting into their cars and the whole cavalcade will head for downtown Des Moines motorcycle escorts you see on either side the car which bears Khrushchev carries on its forward portion as you can see on the running board underneath the side a Russian flag and an American flag directly in front of it are two other cars one is it a Des Moines Police car another is a civilian type car which is being operated by police and other security officers while all this goes on in the background we are not too much aware of because it is just at the top of your picture the unloading of luggage which is of course the part of the whole paraphernalia for a tour of this dimension there goes Khrushchev's party now in his open car heading for the entrance of the Iowa Air Guard hangar and for McKinley from which they'll go to Fleur Drive the airport road and head on for downtown Des Moines now you're beginning to get some idea of how the size of this convoy is is shaping up other cars are following rapidly and some of the cars will bear members of the press radio and television although I can certainly tell you not nearly as many as which they were being able to get into the cavalcade some of the closed cars are now following and as you can see the open convertible in which Khrushchev is riding is already flanked by the Des Moines motorcycle police with their tricycles normally used for traffic duty and slowly they are beginning to move toward the position from which they will be able to emerge onto McKinley and head on out for Fleur Drive in downtown Des Moines we are now getting an excellent look at the entire lineup there are something like let me see three six nine 15 there are 17 cars in the official party and possibly you're going to catch somewhere along the line one of the cars about halfway or so past which has a great many photographers clustering on around and on top of it and how they're going to stay on all the way on that right down Fleur Drive I do not know I don't envy them the job of sticking to a machine that some of them are going to have to do while trying to operate cameras now you're back watching some of the people on the edge of the ramp as the Khrushchev party and its escorting police begin to pass this cameraman  in the way for just a moment here but these are many of the Air Guard and other persons attached to this base who are watching as Khrushchev's car with the attendant motorcycle police passes by that gives you a pretty good look as they approach the entrance to the to the Des Moines Airport Air National Guard Center there we are with a portion of the administration building of the Air Guard in the background an excellent view now and before long the people of Des Moines will be welcoming Khrushchev into the city itself we are now about at the end of our opportunity for a view of the Khrushchev reception and his departure from the airport but for a moment we can probably gain a view of buses powering up here which are also more less pursuing shall we say the Khrushchev party they are newsmen and others including a couple of ambulances we notice that were brought along just in case anybody near DeAngelis is out here today Polk County sheriff's cars some other cars also escorted by motorcycle police there is the ambulance one of the two which was brought out here for use in case of any kind of emergency and these two are leaving along with the buses which carries some of the newsmen that other person is involved in the reception for Khrushchev and particularly in covering the story as is carried all over the world from Des Moines the capital city of Iowa here's an excellent view showing you still the lineup of military police 200 or some of whom were brought in from the Fifth Army area in Chicago at Fort Sheridan Illinois and now they are beginning to break up they've apparently been told their duty is over and the Khrushchev party is beginning to head for downtown Des Moines and now one more look at the downtown Hotel Fort Des Moines area as they await expectantly for the arrival of Premier Khrushchev and it is about time for us to say that from the Des Moines Airport very shortly from two other vantage points in this pool telecast you will get views of the arrival of Russian premier Khrushchev as his cavalcade passes first a point of Vantage 14th and Locust and then arrives at the hotel for Des Moines we are now going to turn you over to the other points from which television cameras will be operating to give you an eyewitness description at a personal view of this historic event the arrival of Russian premier Khrushchev this is Jack Shelley at the Des Moines Airport this is Herb Plambeck down in downtown Des Moines and of course you're seeing now some of the crowds lined up on the streets down here Jim Zabel is with me we'll have some comments about some of the real objectives of Premier Khrushchev's visit here in Iowa Jim perhaps you'd have a word to give about the crowd well we have a large crowd Herb about an hour and a half ago we went over to the Fort Des Moines hotel and the crowd was almost as large then as it is right now but it seems to be increasing as more and more people come up front and try to watch I think Herb we can say is welcome at the Des Moines Airport National Guard was friendly but reserved they might we might make note of the fact that his Boeing 707 military transport took off from San Francisco 19 minutes ahead of schedule this morning arrived about four minutes ahead of schedule which is I've been doing pretty good on a windy day like this the party of course is now traveling east on McKinley to Fleur Drive down Fleur to Locust Locust to 10th and then down 10th to the Fort Des Moines hotel streets along his route if you've been traveling in Des Moines today or streets along the route that he will travel tomorrow have been either barricaded or emergency parking signs have put up no parking allowed in the general area of travel they leave the hotel at 1:30 this afternoon for a tour of the Des Moines Packing Company and the John Deere Works Herb we've been to Russia I mean you've been to Russia and I'd like to ask you some questions about it right now that I think might bear out some of the things that people want to know first of all comes to my mind that I believe despite the fact he's been to New York Los Angeles San Francisco that really this is probably the key spot of his visit outside perhaps of his talks with President Eisenhower yes Jim I'm sure you're right about that Khrushchev's visit here sort of opened the floodgate of memories for those of us in the first American delegation to get behind the Iron Curtain I might tell you Jim our reception was considerably warmer than his has been up to now the Soviet visit here in Iowa is certainly no coincidence this has been one of Mr. K's most cherished dreams for a long time and next to the talks with President Eisenhower the Soviet leader's major objective is to see American agriculture in action this I know and there's good reason Khrushchev has made what some refer to as a reckless boast that Russia will equal or surpass American agricultural production by 1965 and that's quite a challenge it'll take some doing I've seen Soviet agriculture it's a far cry from the efficient and tremendous production achieved by our family farms but Khrushchev must try to give Russians a better diet perhaps I should have had looking at him as we are now in here in Iowa perhaps he ought to have a little better diet himself but anyway the Soviet Union needs to provide more meat milk and eggs for the people of that vast sprawling and restless land what's equally important Khrushchev must release more manpower from farms 50 percent or more of Russia's present population is actually farming so more workers must be used to make more consumer goods to meet the ever growing demands and needs of a rapidly increasing population that's really why Mr. K is here in Iowa the nation's top farm state Jim oh we see right now Herb we can break in just a moment the lobby of the Fort Des Moines hotel which is waiting his arrival approximately five to ten minutes from now the motorcade is still coming down Fleur Drive according to our report traveling at speeds we would estimate between 30 to 45 miles per hour the street has been completely cleared of parking and of course barricaded as have all the downtown Des Moines streets Locust and 10th over which the Khrushchev party will travel on their way to the Fort Des Moines Herb a few moments ago you mentioned the real significance of the Khrushchev Iowa visit now do you think he's really going to be able to see what he wants to see here in Iowa yes I think he is Jim first may I call attention to the fact that there are quite a number of guards (inaudible) us in this downtown area now in answer to your question Jim I've covered about every inch of the route that's planned for K and company tomorrow it'll be a miracle if the full schedule can be maintained its really an ambitious schedule if fully carried out it will give the Soviets a good bow a fleeting glimpse of Iowa towns well like Granger and Perry and let's see Bagley and Baird and I guess Woodward and Madrid and Luther and Ankeny and of course Coon Rapids and Ames most important of all though they will see what they most want to see the productivity of Iowa's fertile farms now I'd say this Jim if the hopes of Bob Darst materialize Russia's boss man we'll see a lot of practical farming and we'll get to talk to some practical farmers this is something he wants to do he said it again and again