FEEDING OF EUROPE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 262, 1 August 1919, Page 7

FEEDING OF EUROPE

MR. HOOVER ON AMERICAN AID

WORK BY ALL ESSENTIAL

New 'York, June 9. A....,1 uy the Associated Press for a statement regarding the financial requirements of Europe from the United States next year, (M'r. Hoover, American Food Commissioner in Europe, eaid: Any statement is premised upon peace and the return of Europe to work. 1 do not take it we will finance any more wars in Europe directly or indirectly, nor tliftt we will provide finance to enable people to live without work or work a part of the' time aa is , going on all over Europe to-day. The excuse for this tort of economic delirium tremens will end with peace, The amount of the credits from the United States to European countries during the year after peace revo.ves around their inability to pay tcr (a) raw material, machinery, and tools; (b) food; (c) currency reorganisation; (D) interest payments on money borrowed from our Government. ' Neutral States are flourishing and need cause no concern. Rumania, Greater Serbia, BiLsarin, Arabia, Turkey (except Armenia),' Portugal, Greece, and Hungary will be practically self-supporting. In fact, somo should be ablo even to export food, and with the other commodities they can export they can pretty well provide alii their necessities, except, perhaps, railway and reconstruction material, agricu.tural implements, and the currency reorganisation. Theso States represent nearly one-third of the population of Europe.

New States' Food Problems. Poland and tho Baltic States will pro-, dure almost enough bread, grains, and vegetables for their own people, but will i)u short of fals. If they tecure resources lor currency reorganisation and some working capital tor raw material imports, so as to get their exports going, they should, with economy, be self-sup-porting within a very few months. Czeeho-Slovnkia, Belgium, and Finland have a. larger import problem, for' they always require 'broadstuffs, meat, aud fats throughout the year to supplement their own production. These people are already moving energetically to get their industries going, oven under the terrible difficulties presented by tho Armistice situation. They must have working capital to reorganise their currencies, provido raw material, and cope with the food problem' for a while. The economic problems'of most of theso States are Bimple compared to those of the larger European nations, and tho world will bo astonished with their recovery if they have peace. There will be great poverty among the individuals who have suffered most directly from the war, and these individuals will comprise a. proper scenci for charitable work for many years, but it will be individual, not national, as has been' the case this winter.

Germany's Double Task. The- condition of Germany and Austria can have no intelligent discussion until peace is signed. Of. the 70,000;000 Germans in these hvo States some 25,000,000 or 30,000,000 lived before the 'war by trade, by tlife import of raw material, nnd by exports in exchango for food and other necessities, and these cannot bo supported on the. land. How they will pay the indemnity and at tho same time secure credits for raw materials is tho problem for the new Commission, whose duty it will be to securo the maximum reparation. If they <lo not get raw material and food they will never be able to pay tho indemnities. In iiny event one possibility that must not be overlooked is that ten or twelve millions ef this population, may emigrate eastward or overseas under the economic eastward which will be their fate at the best: France has the smallest need of food imports of tho three great Allies. Britain can feed herself largely from her colonies, but both will need financial credits for raw material, and Italy will need not only raw material, but food supplies. They will all three want relief from the payment of interest-on '-he debts they owe our Treasury for nomo period. Altogether the dominant problem in the rehabilitation of Europe is ono wholly of credit with which to buy "overseas, and, if such finance can be provided, Europe should he on a self, supporting basis within another year. Dens ex Machina. Whether the United Stales will undertake tho third stage in our intervention in Europe must be for Congress to decide. The first stage has been to end the,war; the second to iced the people until peace and the harvest; the third may be to give our financial assistance to brinpj back economic lit'e. In my own personal view tho largest part of the credits required ironi the United States fhouhl bo provided by private credits, and we should, except for certain limited purposes, slop the lending of money by our Government. The credits next jear nre required for business operations, and when Governments nre engaged in business they alwnvs overspend, and the years to come must be vears of economy, not extra vuKiincp. I feel that something like J. 100,000,000 assistance from tho American Government may bo needed for us to ioin with the other .Allies in the reorganisation of the currencies of the new States, and to take- cure of some particularly acute and otherwise insoluable situations. We may have some further political revolutions in Europe beenuse the- social pendulum has not reached a point of stnbilitv in some spoi>-, but, in my view, the danger of the Ucd Terror and destruction by Bolshevism has been greatly mitigated, and will have actually passed in most countries on the signing of pracc. Work the Only Remedy. If people return to work and orderly aoviTiinlcnt is preserved, fighting stopped, and disarmament undertaken, and there is no discrimination against the i'initcd States in favour of other enuntrus, if Ihtv-c things are done the matter is of nothing like siu-li enormous figures sis wo have been handling during Hid war. If these things are not done Europe will starvi , in spite of all we can do. Tin; surplus of our productivity could not support, a Europe of bo-dny's idleness, if every man of us worked fifteen hours daily.