Congressmen’s Desire To Place Spain on a Level With Other Nations

Grey River Argus, 3 April 1948, Page 5

Congressmen’s Desire To Place Spain on a Level With Other Nations

(Received April 2, at 9.0 p.m.) NEW YORK, April/1.

State Department officials said today that they were delighted at the move to eliminate Spain from the European Recovery Programme. They said that it would tend To correct any misunderstandings oi American foreign policy abroad. The opposite view to'this was expressed by Representative Alvin Okonski (Republican, Winsconsm), Representative Eugene Cox (Democrat, Georgia), and other supporters of the invitation to General Franco. Representative Okonski, who sponsored the amendment, said that he was bewildered at a stctm of criticism world-wide that the proposal had aroused. His aim was to place Russia and Spain on the same footing as far as their Marshall Plan aid was concerned. Russia had rejected the invitation to participate in the Recovery Programme. Spain, also, was entitled to aid, because Spain had fought Communism continually. All that his amendment would have done, he added, was to have enabled Spain to join in the recovery programme if the other Western European nations were . agreeable. Mr. Okonski emphasised that the proposal was entirely without American official inspiration. He added: “I hope that the action of the House of Representatives will be accepted as a friendly hand from the American people to the Spanish people, to cause General Franco to democratise his Government, so that Spain and her people will be accepted in the family of nations.”