In October, 1958, Dr. Donald K. David, then Chairman of the Committee for Economic Development and Vice Chairman of the Ford Foundation (and also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations) went to Dallas to speak to the Citizens Council, an organization composed of leading Dallas business executives, whose president that year was Stanley Marcus.
Dr. David told the business men that they should give greater support and leadership to the government's foreign aid program; and, of course, he urged vast expansion of foreign aid, particularly to "underdeveloped nations."
That was the signal and the build-up. The next month–November, 1958–the experimental Business Executives Research Committee, which the CED had formed in 1953 and which had already completed its mission with its report and recommendation on metropolitan government for Dallas, was converted into "The Dallas CED Associates."
Here is a news story about that event, taken from the November 11, 1958, Dallas Morning News:
"A Dallas Committee for Economic Development–the first of its kind in the nation–has been founded at Southern Methodist University. It will give voice to Southwestern opinions–and knowledge–on economic, matters or international importance. Keystone will be an economic research center to be established soon at SMU.
"A steering group composed of Dallas and Southwestern business, industrial and educational leaders laid the groundwork for both committee and center in a weekend meeting at SMU."
The "steering group" included George McGhee and Neil Mallon.
Mr. McGhee (presently Assistant Secretary of State for Policy Planning) is, and has been for many years, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Neil Mallon, then Chairman of the Board of Dresser Industries and a former official of the Foreign Policy Association, founded the Dallas Council on World Affairs in 1951. Dresser Industries is one of the big corporations which contribute money to the Council on Foreign Relations.
In the group with Mr. McGhee and Mr. Mallon were five SMU officials, a Dallas banker, a real estate man, and Stanley Marcus, the head man in the "steering group" which set up the Dallas Associates of the Committee for Economic Development.